A new Frontier
by ruggler354
Summary: After a devastating loss at the Sinnoh league, can this trainer finally find what he's missing and defeat his most powerful opponent?
1. Chapter 1

**Please review and let me know what you think of this story so far. It promises to be quite a long one if you guys like the idea.**

* * *

Engines roared as the ship flew through the air, nearing it's next destination. Brandon sat in the control room of his large pyramid, surveying the view below.

'Sir, we are passing over Violet city now. Estimated arrival at the Ruins of Alph in fifteen minutes.'

The voice came from the speaker in front of him, next to the large wooden steering wheel which Brandon had always found amusing. Despite being captain of his large vessel, he actually did little steering. Pressing a button in from of him, the Pyramid King replied a quick 'thank you' back. His crew worked hard, without them there would be little hope of flying anywhere. Brandon resolved to give them a little time off when they landed. After all he planned on staying a while.

The large flying pyramid banked to one side gently, slowly adjusting its course, the Pyramid King watched as Sprout tower flew by. _Won't be long now, _Brandon mused to himself. A stop here for a week, then onto Ecruteak city. The two towers there and the ruins here were connected somehow and Brandon was determined to find out how. After all, he had to fill his spare time with something, his usual task with the frontier had run dry somehow. Brandon signed thinking about his last opponent. _I didn't really even have to substitute, one pokemon would have done it. _Still Brandon had switched between each round, knocking out each one of his challenger's three pokemon with a fresh one of his in order to keep things interesting. That had been a week ago and no request for a rematch had yet been made. _Scott will find another trainer soon enough. _Although truth be told, it had been a long time since he'd found anyone of real contention, most challengers didn't even get the chance to face him, being last in the line of frontier brains. Brandon had even stopped using his regis in battle. In fact, the last time he'd been beaten was almost two years ago. A smile touched the corner of him mouth as he recalled that particular trainer. _Sure didn't see that last volt tackle coming, _he thought, fondly recalling a yellow mouse pokemon bursting from a block of ice.

'Sir, we have arrived at the Ruins of Alph, do we have permission to land?' The speaker burst into life again, shaking Brandon from his thoughts. He quickly gave his consent then made to walk out of the room. _If I can't battle, then at least I can have the next best thing. _Ruins and old pokemon legends had always interested him, even as a small boy.

'Beep beep, beep beep.'

Brandon paused at the doorway. Someone was trying to contact him on his video phone. _It can wait a few hours surely. _He made to continue...

'Beep beep, Beep beep.'

The Pyramid King sighed, frustrated. He had been looking forward to exploring the ruins, but if that was Scott, he'd never hear the end of it. The overweight owner of the battle frontier had enough trouble contacting him at times, since Brandon was always on the move and his chosen hobby often took him out of reception. And in the end, when it came down to it, this was his hobby and the battle frontier was his job. Brandon wearily returned to the console and pressed the red button to the left of the controls beside the tv monitor.

The picture flicked to life. To his surprise, a picture of a young women appeared in front of him. This women was dressed in a white shirt, a blue bow-tie tied loosely around her neck. A pair of long black braided pony-tales lay draped over her shoulders, her face immediately forming a wide smile.

'Brandon, its great to see you again! How's things with the battle frontier?'

Brandon smiled, recognising her. 'Candice, its been a while. I'm well, thank you.'

'I'm sorry to disturb you, I hope you don't mind me calling like this, you did give me your number and bade me to call if something came up and well, something has...' the gym leader continued.

'What's happened? Is it the Snowpoint temple, has this to do with Regigigas again? Tell me!' His voice rising to a shout. Candice expression immediately turned to panic, jumping back half a step before waving her arms frantically in front on the monitor.

'No no no, nothing like that I promise, Regigigas is fine, we are all fine, I didn't mean it like that, sorry...'

'Then what? My apologies, but I'm in a hurry. Now, if you don't mind.'

The gym leader appeared flustered. 'Of course, I'm sorry, the only reason I called, well it's not me, well it is me, I mean I'm calling for someone else, he came looking for you here and well you'd already left and well anyway here he is...' Candice quickly backed out of the way, her face red as another figure took her place, slightly shorter, but with eyes that held fierce determination. Brandon recognised him instantly, how could he forget that person? The Pyramid King leaned back in his chair, ruins forgotten. _Well this should be interesting._

The boy leaned forward towards the screen until his face took up the whole picture.

'Pyramid King Brandon. My apologies also for not coming to you in person. I would like to formerly make my request for a re-match with you. As you can see I am in Snowpoint city at the moment, but name a time and a venue and I will meet you. At your own convenience of course,' he finished on a level note.

Brandon said nothing, but sat and surveyed the young man in front of him. The outward appearance spoke little of the character within. A large matt of purple hair covered the top of his head, his outfit was a simple blue jacket. But it was his eyes that commanded his attention. Eyes that weren't afraid to do the impossible.

'So you have finally returned.'

'Yes.'

'Then tell me boy. Why should I battle you?'

The teenager appeared surprised by the question. 'Because I challenged you. As a frontier brain you are required to take on all challengers,' he replied as if stating the obvious.

Brandon half-smiled in amusement. 'But you have not challenged me as a frontier brain. You are not part of the battle frontier. Therefore your challenge is that of one trainer challenging another and I am well within my rights to refuse. Especially if I think it isn't worth my time.'

The look of feigned respect was replaced by shock. 'I assure you, this time the result will be different...'

Brandon scoffed in disbelief. 'What's so different this time? You certainly didn't fare too well at the Sinnoh league!' The Pyramid King replied, his voice rising.

'I have grown considerably since, that battle would not have the same result now.' The trainer replied in a bitter tone. 'My team is stronger now, I have new strategies and they will not fail a second time...'

'NO! You have undermined the very point you have been trying to make. You still fail to see your flaws. I had hoped that your defeat would have shown you that, but clearly not.'

The look of shock had now changed to anger. Fists clenched, the young man shouted back through the screen. 'Enough! I've had enough of people pointing out my flaws. I demand a re-match with you!'

Brandon laughed loudly. 'You still haven't achieved control have you? But I will make you a deal. Answer me a question and I will battle you wherever you want.'

'Fine. Ask.'

'Then tell me boy. Tell me why do you battle?'

The trainer growled in reply, raising a hand to rub his face in frustration. 'Enough games. So will you battle me?'

'No. You are clearly not yet ready.'

'Fine. Then this has been a waste of time.' Through the screen, Brandon watched as the purple-haired trainer reached forward, obviously intending to terminate the call..

'Wait.'

The hand paused, the eyes looked back up.

'If you want to battle me that badly, you could always challenge the battle frontier.'

'What?'

'Challenge the frontier boy! I am not the only frontier brain. There are six others. Defeat them and I will have no choice to accept your challenge.'

The boy furrowed his brow, slightly scowling. 'I haven't got time for that!'

'Why not? What is your rush boy.' Brandon leaned forward towards the screen. 'Defeat the brains. Prove how much you have grown. Then, I promise, I will battle you.'

'But...I...' the teenager spluttered.

Brandon stood up abruptly. 'Enough of this. Challenge it or don't, its up to you. Now I have places to be.' The Pyramid King ended the call, cutting off the other's reply. _Now finally I can get to exploring these ruins. _A small smile of anticipation crossed his rugged features, but it had nothing to do with where he was. _Maybe, there might be another worthy trainer out there..._

* * *

Thousands of miles north-east in a snow-covered city, the purple-haired trainer stood as if in shock, staring at the blank video screen for a long while. A slow sigh escaped his mouth as he ran his hand through his hair. After another long pause, the trainer sighed again and reached forward towards the video screen, this time inputting a new number. A face appeared again on the screen, this one much younger, also with long purple hair.

'At last! I was waiting, did you find him, when will you battle?' Reggie asked, excited.

Paul grimaced. 'Its complicated. Now I need to ask you something. How do you enter the battle frontier?'

'What?'


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 here we go. Please review, when I read this it feels like I might be trying to rush it a little. Let me know what you think thanks**.

* * *

'I said, how do you enter the battle frontier?' Paul repeated.

'Yeah I heard. But I thought you just wanted to battle Brandon, I didn't know you were interested in completing the frontier challenge.'

'I'm not. But Brandon has made it a condition for our re-match.'

'I see,' Reggie replied thoughtfully.

'It's a waste of time, I've got half a mind not to bother when I could be training for another league. I mean what's the point?'

Reggie paused before replying. 'Well I disagree.'

'What?'

'I said I disagree. I think there could be a lot of benefit from taking on the brains, not only for your pokemon, but especially for you as a trainer.'

''What do you mean?'

'I mean, the frontier brains aren't like normal trainers or even gym leaders. Each one has their own unique style and challenge, often in ways you might not expect, often forcing you to change your own style as well. A trainer can only benefit from that.'

'I have my own style and it works fine for me.'

Reggie looked at his brother sceptically. 'I think recent events have proven otherwise.'

'So what if I lost one match. I've lost matches before,' Paul angrily replied.

'You should have won and you know it. You had the stronger team out there, you even had a better strategy than Ash did. But he beat you. Clearly he has something you're missing. And don't forget, he completed the frontier long before either of us met him.' Reggie leaned back on the couch he was sitting on. 'Maybe it was something he gained through the frontier, maybe not. But I don't think you have anything to lose by trying. If nothing else, battling six powerful trainers will be good training for your own pokemon in preparation for your re-match with Brandon. And I can say from experience, the frontier brains are as strong as any trainer you'll find in a league, mostly likely stronger in most cases.'

Paul opened his mouth to argue, then sighed and hung his head, anger replaced by a familiar stony expression. 'Fine then, I'll do it.'

'Excellent. Well to complete the frontier, you have to beat the seven brains, naturally Brandon will be the last. The six before can be challenged in any order far as I know. All the battle facilities are in Kanto so you're going to need to get a flight over there as soon as. I assume you'l be flying into Saffron?' Paul grunted in reply. 'Ok well lets see. I suppose the closest facility to that would be the Battle Dome between Saffron and Lavender. The brain there is the Dome Ace Tucker.' A small smile crossed Reggie's face. 'I think you'l like him, he quite a character.'

'Fine. I'll call after I've beaten him.' Paul made to end the call.

'Paul wait. There's something else. If you're serious about taking on the frontier there's someone you should call first. His name is Scott, here, I'll send you his number.'

'Who's he?'

'I don't really know, to be honest,' Reggie said apologetically. 'He kinda deals with challengers to the frontier and helps them out with tips and stuff. He really helped me along when I made my challenge, I sure he'll do the same for you.'

'Thanks. But that's fine, I won't be needing his help. Later.' Paul ended the call.

Reggie sighed as he looked at the blank screen. _After all that happened at the Sinnoh league, Paul still hasn't learnt his most valuable lesson. Well maybe the frontier would show him. _Paul had potential, certainly more than he'd ever had as a trainer.

* * *

The warm sun came as a bit of a surprise to Paul as he stepped out of Saffron airport reception. After so long in Sinnoh, the warmer Kanto climate was a nice change._ Not that a little cold ever slowed me down anyway _Paul thought dismissively. Still it had been a long time since he was last in Kanto, certainly Saffron had gotten a lot bigger in the years since. Paul set off, heading for the pokemon centre on the other side of the city, taking in the sights as he travelled, Silth co building, the magnet train station, the Fighting dojo, only paying a little attention to the last one. His reason was simple, as a young trainer he'd spent a little time here training. _Perhaps Hariyama could benefit from a little training here also. _Paul put the idea to the back of his mind as the centre came into view, a large P lighting up the top of the doorway.

The centre was packed, a barrage of noise hit the young trainer's ears as the automatic doors slid open to admit him. There was trainers and pokemon everywhere, the line was several metres long to the counter. Casting an evaluating eye over the crowd, he could see most here were beginning trainers judging by the age and the basic forms of the pokemon they carried. He sighed in exasperation, his pokemon didn't need healing, but he needed directions to the Battle Dome, he certainly didn't intend to spend the next few weeks searching the country for it. Resolved for the worst, the purple-haired trainer sighed and took a seat by the window to wait. _Maybe this was a bad idea after-all..._

'My my, that's a serious expression. Under that face must hide a serious problem, am I right?'

Paul started, shaken from his thoughts and looked up. In a seat opposite him sat the most ridiculous man he seen in a long time. What looked like a blue short sleeved summer shirt, stretched to the limit over a large belly commanded his attention at first before his gaze travelled up to take in his face. Round sunglasses covered his eyes, curly brown hair covered the top of the man's head. As Paul and the man locked gazes, the latter face broke into the wide grin, sending his multiple chins dancing.

'Hey sorry my man, I didn't mean to startle you. Let me guess, your a pokemon trainer right?'

Paul stared at the bizarre man for a moment longer before returning his gaze to the window and the view outside, ignoring his question, face returning to it's emotionless state. The large man continued to look at him, the wide grin fading a little.

'Hey dude, there's no need to be like that, I meant no harm. There's a lot of trainers here today huh. Saffron gym giving them it's usual trouble I suppose.'

Paul mentally sighed, continuing to ignore the stranger.

'That Sabrina's one tough cookie. And the trainers here are all plain old rookies, they just don't have the skills necessary to deal with psychic types.'

The trainer closed his eyes in frustration. _Just go away..._

'I mean some of these don't even understand how battling really works, I mean really?' The stranger gestured to a tearful trainer in the line, their pokemon looking particularly beaten up. 'Bringing a Machop to a psychic gym, what chance did that poor fighting-type have?'

The line wasn't getting any shorter. Paul got to his feet suddenly, he'd just have to go somewhere else for directions. Walking away from the annoying stranger, he made for the doorway quickly.

* * *

The noise of the centre faded as Paul strode towards the eastern side the city. Reggie had said the Battle Dome was situated between Saffron and Lavender town so at the very least he should be heading in the right direction. The trainer rounded a large building and saw the pokemon Mart ahead. _That should work. _

'Hey there!'

Paul jumped in surprise as a hand landed on his shoulder. He span around to face his assailant, a hand already scrabbling at his belt for a pokeball.

'Hey, don't worry man, its just me again.'

_Him again! _Paul recognised the weirdo from the centre. 'Did you follow me here?'

'Well uh yeah...how else would I be here?' The stranger broke into a wide grin again.

'Look, I don't know who you are, but I'm in a hurry,' Paul replied bluntly. 'Now leave me alone.' He turned away and marched towards the Mart, determined to leave the stranger behind.

'They won't be able to help son.'

Paul kept walking.

'Hey if your looking for the Battle Dome, I can help.'

Paul froze, his hand outstretched ready to open the door. 'How did you know where I was going? He demanded spinning round. To his shock, the oversized man was right behind him again, hands on his hips, laughing.

'Well lets just say I have a sixth sense about this kind of thing. You certainly didn't look like a rookie trainer in the centre. You didn't look like a tourist, that's for sure. So I just added two and two together and came up with...Battle Dome!' The stranger exclaimed, striking a victorious pose.

_Figures. _Paul rubbed his eyes wearily 'Fine, yes you're right.'

'Then look no further my boy, your quest for the Dome is over! All you need to do is follow the main route out of here east, then turn north at the second turn, then east again by the two trees, then a little south, before you can turn north, west by the old mill, then...' The stranger started to make wild gestures with his hands, pulling out large arrows from behind his back and waving them in all directions. 'Then either right or left when you reach the crossroads, over the bridge, across the-'

'Can you just point it out on my pokenav?' Paul interrupted.

The large man fell to the ground, his multiple signposts crashing all around him. 'Well er yeah sure, why didn't you say so,' he replied sheepishly, adjusting his sunglasses. 'Its right there.' he stated stabbing a large finger onto the small screen.

Paul shoved the pokenav back into his pocket. 'Thank you.'

'Hey no worries dude!' The stranger shouted at the retreating back of the trainer. 'Good luck at the Battle Dome!'

Crossing the outskirts of the city Paul began to travel on the main road heading towards Lavender.

* * *

Finally, a whole day of travelling later, he turned the last corner and caught his first look at the Battle Dome.

It was huge. Paul was staggered at how big it was, in fact it could have easily have fit the whole Lily of the Valley Island stadium inside. Crowds of people mingled round the front, everywhere he looked there was pictures of the frontier brain Tucker. As he walked the short distance to the entrance, it was clear he had stumbled upon a major event, there were people everywhere, mostly hysterical women clambering for tickets to get inside. Makeshift stalls lined the road and tradesmen attempted to make some money out of the madness, press and cameras were everywhere. Once again, Paul began to regret coming. This wasn't a battle facility, this was chaos. From what he remembered of Reggie when he took the frontier challenge, he knew Tucker was an entertainer as well as a frontier brain, but this was beyond whatever he had expected. Even if he could find the frontier brain here, he was clearly going to have to wait until whatever was happening had finished before he could issue his challenge. Paul groaned in annoyance, covering his face with a hand. This was a waste of time...

'Um excuse me. Is your name by any chance Paul?'

Paul looked up, a middle-aged women with blonde hair, separate from the crowd with a microphone in her hand was staring intently at him, but he didn't recognize her. 'Yes I am, why?'

The women blinked once. 'Um Paul...Shinji?'

'Well yes, do I know you?'

The women blinked twice, then let out a ear-piercing shriek that sent Paul stumbling back in surprise. 'Oh my God, everyone! Its Paul Shinji!' She screamed. The crowd fell silent as everyone turned to look at the purple haired trainer.

'What...'

With a sound that shattered windows, immediately everyone started to turn towards Paul, dust being kicked up into the air as screaming pedestrians converged on him from all directions. 'No wait, what, stop!' Paul shouted frantically

'Is it true you're challenging Dome Ace Tucker?'

'What pokemon are you going to use?'

'Did you know Tucker hasn't lost his last five matches?'

'Does this hat make me look fat?'

'What is your secret strategy for success?'

Microphone were thrust at him from all directions, Paul was completely over-whelmed as questions came thick and fast, he looked frantically about for an escape route.

'Hey there, give to kid a break, he has a big battle ahead of him.' A cheerful voice came from behind, Paul span around, he knew that voice.

A large man wearing a blue coloured shirt walked forward, easily parting the crowd, Paul's eyes narrowed as he recognised the man who had given him directions back at Saffron.

'This way boy, quickly before they carry you away,' the overweight man gestured frantically, beaming at Paul. 'Now, in here,' he said quickly, gesturing to a small side door in the outside wall of the Dome. Paul sprinted through the throng of bystanders after him and leapt through the small opening away from the screaming crowds, the fat man quickly following, abet with some difficultly and slamming the door behind him.

'Phew, glad that's done, I'm all for having a few fans, but that Tucker surely takes the biscuit...' he said leaning on his knees, wheezing from the over-exertion.

'Just who the hell are you and why do you keep following me?' Paul demanded of his saviour between breaths.

The man immediately straightened up, a wide grin on his face again. 'Why of course! We never introduced ourselves! The names Scott, no more, no less.' The man shouted, straightening his sunglasses. 'And im your one hundred percent certified guide to all things frontier related!' He finished, spreading his arms out wide.

Scott watched as the young man straightened up and stared at him with new calculating eyes.

'So you're Scott.'

'Yup.'

'My brother mentioned you.'

'Yup. And he mentioned you as well, its good to meet you properly Paul.'

'Er yes likewise I guess. So Reggie told you about me did he?'

'Yup, he rang me about a week ago, said his little bro was taking on the frontier and asked me if I could help out in anyway possible. Good kid that Reggie, good trainer. Shame he couldn't go the distance.' Scott sighed wistfully. 'Still onto a new chapter eh? Reggie tells me your quite the trainer yourself.'

Paul looked around him. They were both in a small room, with small stools and tables lining the edges. On the walls were large mirrors. It looked oddly like where a actor would go before appearing on stage. 'Are we in...are we in a dressing room?'

'That's right folks. Tucker likes to look good before he sees his fans. Course there's plenty of make-up for you too if you feel you need it...'

Paul shot a glare at Scott. 'There's no need.'

'Well alrightly then. Onto the main event!' Scott beamed once again.

'What's going on here anyway, why are so many people here?'

Scott started laughing, holding his chest. 'Why, they're here for you of course. Or more accurately, to watch you battle Tucker. He's very popular round these parts.'

'But how did they all know I was going to be here..?'

'Well its only been on the news for the last week...'

'A week! A week ago I was in Sinnoh!'

'Hey you can't fight destiny bro.' Scott chuckled. 'Anyhow, I gotta dash, I was supposed to be up top five minutes ago, seeya later Paul, someone will be down to collect you in a minute, good luck!' He yelled disappearing through the door at the far end to the room. Paul remained where he was, stunned at what was happening. _What have I let myself in for? _He walked slowly towards the nearest stool and sat down, catching sight of himself in the mirror. In the quiet of the dressing room, he could hear the thunder of footsteps up above. Paul studied his own expression. _Is that nerves I see? _The purple-haired trainer shook himself. _Get a grip. Lets just get this over and done with..._

'Paul Shinji?' Paul turned to see a man stood by the same doorway Scott had vacated moments before. 'Hey man, good to meet you. My name Victor.' Victor walked forward, hand outstretched. 'I'll be your referee for the upcoming match.' Paul returned his handshake steadily, but said nothing in reply. 'Er ok then, if you'd like to follow me, your match is about to start.'

Victor led Paul out of the room into a long corridor. As they proceeded down it, Paul could hear the roar of the crowds above slowly growing in volume. 'Well this is it.' Victor paused by the door at the far end. 'When they call you, just go on through.' Victor instructed. 'And good luck.'

'When they call me..?'

'You'l know, don't worry,' Victor replied, winking. 'Gotta dash, seeya in a bit!' With that, the referee disappeared through a different door.

Paul stared after him for a moment, then turned and faced the door. The cheering was getting even louder, even through the door, the noise was beginning to rival that of the Sinnoh league. Paul exhaled and crossed his arms when suddenly new music suddenly started to play and a commentator roared over the crowd.

**'He competed in the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh league, achieving minimum of top eight contender-ship in each. A man of few words, this trainer has captured a great deal of attention and has battled many of the greatest trainers of modern age, despite his youth. Seen as a rising star in the battling world, feared by friend and foe alike, this trainer intends to begin his frontier debut with an explosion! Hailing from all the way from Veilstone city in the Sinnoh region, lets give a big hand to our Battle Dome challenger...PAUL SHINIJI!' **

_Guess that's my cue... _Paul pushed the door open in front of him open and walked forward, immediately dazzled by the spotlight cast upon him. _What the hell..?_

He was standing in the middle of a stadium, but unlike any he had ever seen before. It was huge. Two levels of stands circled the battlefield, both large enough to hold thousands. And they were both packed to the brim with screaming fans. Red, yellow and green spotlights waved around the arena, confetti fell down from the ceiling. In disbelief, Paul walked forward, taking his place on the platform at his side of the battlefield, still staggered by his surroundings, but determined to maintain a stony exterior. _I've been in stadiums before, if I can't keep my cool, then how can I expect my team to? _Up high Paul could see his own face, fifty time bigger on the wide monitor fitted into the wall above the crowd.

The lights suddenly dimmed. Paul's face disappeared off screen, replaced by a badge Paul recognized as the Tactics symbol, as a new voice filled the Dome, this time much deeper than before...

**'A** **pokemon battle is a beauty like no other and such beauty needs a creator!' **The crowds went wild, chants of 'Tucker...Tucker...Tucker,' filled the stadium. **'A master who loves his fans like he loves his pokemon! Introducing the finest display of power and talent the Battle Dome has to offer...give it up, all rise and stand, for our very own...Dome...Ace...TUCKER!'**

Fighting the urge to cover his ears, Paul looked around for his opponent.

'Up here my friend!'

Paul snapped his gaze upwards. _Oh you can't be serious..._

Tucker flew down from the ceiling, head first, wearing a large cape covering all his body below the neck. Flipping forward, he landed perfectly on the opposite side of the battlefield, casting off his cape as he gestured outward. 'Welcome, welcome my friends to the Battle Dome. I'm here to have a good time, how about you?' The fans screamed their response, the loudest cry yet. Tucker turned his attention upon Paul, who remained motionless, stunned by what he was seeing. 'My valiant opponent, may we have a battle worthy of such attention, a battle that merits the might and honour of it's prize, the great and glorious Tactics symbol!' Tucker pointed skywards, from Paul's perspective, right at the symbol on the screen behind him. The Dome shook from the noise of cheers and stamping feet.

Paul said nothing in reply, simply stood and stared at his opponent. Tucker looked... ridiculous. Dressed in a white skin-tight tutu, from the Dome Ace's back, a pair of wings were spread out like a Mothim behind him, coloured golden. A large head-band covered his forehead, also golden. _I'm supposed to battle...him?_

'Now to introduce the fabled theme for this mighty clash of wills. Once told as enemies, now brought together for your entertainment, introducing the flaming dragon of vengeance, Salemence!...And the mighty white knight of steel, Metagross!' With a flourish, Tucker threw two pokeballs onto the field and in a flash of light, two pokemon burst forward.

'Al-right Paul!' Paul started and looked over to his right. Victor was hovering nearby in a referee hovercraft. 'Paul, our Dome Ace has revealed his own pokemon, now it's time to do the same. Should you wish, you can transport any pokemon here through the machine behind you.'

Glancing behind, Paul saw a transporter, much like the ones in pokemon centres rise from the ground. He returned his attention to the pokemon at the far side of the field.

Despite his opponents bizarre appearance, his pokemon where no joke. Salemence, due to the fact it was a dragon-type, would mean it could use a wide variety of moves and thanks to it also being a duel flying-type, was going to be hard to catch. Metagross on the other hand was fairly slow, but made up for it with a immensely high defence and it's psychic capabilities. _This could be tricky. Ice attacks are the way to go with Salemence, but will have little effect against Metagross. So my other pokemon is going to need to have moves to cover that disadvantage... _Paul looked back at the referee. 'It's fine, I'll go with the pokemon I have with me.

Paul unhooked two pokeballs from his belt. 'Now, stand by for battle!' He shouted as he threw them both onto the field. His two pokemon appeared with a flash of white light. _First step to my re-match, let's crush this clown quickly. _Paul half smiled with anticipation, fists clenched, eager for the fight to begin...

'This is to be a double battle between Dome Ace Tucker and challenger Paul. The match will end when both of one sides pokemon are unable to continue.' Victor shouted from the side. 'Now, both sides ready...BEGIN!'


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3 Paul versus Tucker here we go. I hope I done them justice, Tucker's easily my favorite brain. Please review and give me your thoughts and don't afraid to be honest. Not too honest though ;)**

* * *

'Now, standby for battle!' Paul shouted as he threw his two pokeballs onto the field. With a flash of white light, both pokemon emerged.

'Fros-laaaasssss!'

'Electer-electivire!_'_

His two pokemon, Froslass and Electivire, gave their battle cry, announcing their readiness to the crowd. The duel ghost-ice type hovered several meters above the ground, arms spread wide as if inviting it's opponent in. By comparison, Electivire stood firm, arms and twin tail raised, ready for combat.

* * *

'Aaaahhhh a first class choice for a first class trainer. Now Paul! Dazzle us with your brilliance! Begin this sure to be legendary bout!' Tucker cried out, his voice echoing around the dome causing more hysterical screams from his fans.

Paul scowled, his opponent had already got on his nerves and the battle hadn't even started yet. _I'm going to enjoy this..._

'Alright lets go, Froslass use ice shard on Salamence, Electivire use brick break on Metagross!

Froslass raised it's hands above it's head, forming a white sphere of ice between it's hands before flinging it at Salamence. Electivire shot off towards Metagross like a canon ball, arm held high, prepared to bring it crashing down.

'Utilizing the type advantage! Admirable, but you'l need more than that to win here,' Tucker laughed. 'Now Metagross, my iron guardian, protect Salamence!'

Salamance immediately retreated as Metagross took it's place, surrounding itself in a green coloured shield. The ice impacted harmlessly on the iron leg pokemon's defensive move for no effect, but even as the shield faded, Electivire had crossed the final distance to reach it's opponent, leaping into the air at the last moment to give it's strike extra power.

Tucker grinned. 'Salamence, my magnificent beast, stop Electivire with your dragonbreath!'

Salamence craned it's neck skyward and unleashed a powerful jet of green fire over the top of Metagross, Electivire gave a shout of pain as the attack impacted into it's chest, sending it spinning backwards before it could land it's blow.

'Now Metagross! Reveal your mystic might! Psybeam go!' Tucker then shouted, pointing towards Froslass in a grand gesture. From the centre of Metacross' face, a beam of powerful purple energy shot forth, knocking Froslass out of the air.

* * *

The ghost-ice type cried out as it hit the ground, followed closely by Electivire. Paul looked on in shock as two of his best pokemon slowly got back to their respective feet. By comparison, Tucker's pokemon hadn't even gotten a scratch, calmly standing side by side as they waited for their next command. The Dome rocked as the fans started chanting Tucker again, the Dome ace bowed in return, waving his arms dramatically as he did.

'Thank you my friends! But rest assured, the show isn't over just yet. Isn't that right...Paul?' Tucker said, pointing straight at him and winking.

Paul bared his teeth.

_Fine then, no more holding back. _It was time to show this fool just how powerful he was.

'Electivire, Froslass, ready yourselves now.'

This two pokemon straightened up, Froslass floated back into the air and Electivire brought it's fists back up threatening.

'Eeelecti-vire!'

'Fro-lass!'

'Finally an opponent not afraid to stand and stare us in the eye. But its our turn now, Salamence, take the stage! Show us your dragon rage!' The dragon type leapt forward to the center of the arena, a large ball of red energy forming in it's jaws.

'Hmph. Electivire move in and use protect!' The electric pokemon charged in close to the dragon-type and took the full power of the dragon rage on it's shield at close range. The shockwave from the impact threw Salamence backwards, while Electivire smirked, safe inside its impenetrable barrier.

'Now Froslass, full power blizzard lets go!'

From behind Electivire, Froslass flew higher still and created a huge cyclone of frigid air and snow, engulfing the entire battlefield. Despite the chill of the attack, Paul remained motionless ignoring the cold. _Maybe now you'l wish you wore something more than a tutu... _he thought scornfully.

* * *

Salamence whimpered in pain as snow began to build up on it's wings. Metagross however appeared unaffected by the cold, its calculating eyes tracking Froslass' every movement.

'Well it's certainly true that revenge is a dish best served cold,' Tucker cried, faking a violent shiver for the entertainment of the crowd. 'But you have overlooked one defining factor. Metagross! My shining savoir, use your psychic powers to pull Salamence into your protective shield now!' Metagross' eye turned blue, Salamence flew towards it like a pin to a magnet, landing gently on the steel-type's back. Instantly Metagross' protect activated, covering both pokemon from snowstorm. Paul snarled in frustration.

'Paul! I must give credit where credit is due. Using blizzard to attack both pokemon while Electivire protects itself in a remarkable strategy. But my pokemon work as one were as yours fight on their own. Now Salamence rouse yourself. Use flamethrower to knock Froslass out of the sky!'

'Enough!' Paul shouted, losing his cool a little despite the temperature. 'Frostlass use hail then dodge it!' The falling snow instantly turned into icicles, Frostlass immediately faded into the storm, reappearing and disappearing in rapid succession, dodging the flamethrower with ease.

'Nice. Using your pokemon's ability is a impressive touch. But Electivire doesn't seem to have grown its winter coat yet...'

He was right, Paul shifted his gaze to his electric pokemon, protect had faded, it was clearly taking additional damage from the hail. But it didn't matter, Froslass had the advantage now and there was no way Paul was going to sacrifice that for the sake of a little discomfort. Electivire was just going to have to deal with it.

Paul returned his attention to his ice-ghost type. 'Froslass now, shadow ball!'

Froslass shot a sphere of darkness at Metagross. Tucker smiled widely as he watched the attack approach.

It was time.

'Metagross, use Magnet Rise!'

* * *

The purple-haired trainer's jaw dropped open as the iron leg pokemon levitated off the ground, carrying Salamence on it's back, out of shadow ball's path.

'It can fly?!' Paul shouted, still stunned.

'A-ha. Finally we have reached the masterpiece of the match. The ultimate double battle team, combined into one indestructible warrior! You have forced me to reveal my greatest combination, for that, credit goes to you sir. But no Paul, it's time to bring this match to it's epic finale!'

The crowd roared and screamed it's appreciation.

'Electivire thunder! Froslass shadow ball!' Paul yelled, unleashing an all out devastating attack, frustration boiling over in his shock.

'Metagross my friend, protect!'

The two attacks impacted into the steel-psychic type's shield creating a large plume of smoke, Paul watched as the opposing pair flew out of its peak, Metagross' shield still intact, protecting them both.

'Salamence, time to bring this storm to a end. Rapid fire dragon rage now!'

Paul watched, stunned into silence, as dozens of dragon rages flew at his pokemon. Froslass succeeded in dodging the first few, before one caught it on it's flank, then the next in it's face. Froslass cried out in pain, before falling and impacting into the ground for the second time. Electivire wasn't looking much better, the electric pokemon was hunched over in pain from all the damage it had taken. Paul looked up from his pokemon to see Metagross hovering high in the ceiling, Salamence still on its back, both ready to dive on their prey.

* * *

The hail slowly stopped, the battlefield clearing. Everything had somehow gone oddly quiet, as the whole stadium held it's breath for the finishing moves. Paul stood where he was, shell-shocked. Never in his wildest dreams had he thought something like this could happen so easily. _I'm losing..._

More than that, he'd actually lost. There was nothing that could save him now. His pokemon had failed him yet again.

_No. I failed. Was this was Reggie meant? Am I truly missing something? Is there really some quality that Brandon, Reggie...Ash has that I don't._

All anger had drained from Paul as he stared onto the field, feeling oddly empty. _It's over...and it was so quick... _All his dreams, one by one, appeared and drained away before his eyes, defeating Brandon at the Battle Pyramid, challenging Cynthia at the champions league, defeating Ash in their re-match... Across the field, Tucker studied his opponent, feeling oddly let down by the battles conclusion, so quickly brought to it's finishing act. Was Paul really just going to stand there and allow him to finish it? Never the less, it was time to wrap this up. Tucker opened his mouth ready to issue his command.

'No.'

Tucker paused, looking curiously over at Paul. The young man had snapped his head back up, glaring at Tucker, a new fury burning in his eyes.

_No. I refuse to accept this! _After all Paul had been through in his short life, after all his experienced in that time, he refused to believe this was how it was meant to end, here, at the hands of this amateur..._ I have come far too far and I will not allow it end like this. I. Will. Not. Lose!_

_ '_Froslass! Electivire! Get up now!'

His two pokemon looked up at him with pleading eyes.

'NOW!'

Paul's team slowly climbed to their feet, still resigned to their fate.

* * *

Tucker looked at him stunned, for once lost for words. By all rights his opponent's team should have been knocked out long ago. The frontier brain took a deep breath, an uncharacterisic look of seriousness passing over his face. He couldn't afford to take any-more chances.

'Metagross use miracle eye on Froslass, Salamence ready your fire blast!'

Metagross trained its eyes on the ice pokemon as the dragon on it's back began to draw flames.

* * *

Paul looked up at his opponents above, Tucker had decided to end it now and with miracle eye, Froslass would not be able to dodge the following move, even if it could somehow re-activate it's snow cloak ability. But that was fine, Paul had no intention of trying to dodge the attack.

_You've shown me your style Tucker. Well this is mine... _'Froslass! Use thunderbolt on Electivire!'

The crowd gasped as the ice pokemon unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity onto it's partner, Electivire shrieked out in surprise. Tucker could not believe what he was seeing, Paul's pokemon where turning on each other! All the more reason to end this as soon as possible, the Dome Ace could not allow such a sight to be subjected on his many fans.

'Metagross hyper beam now! Salamence, unleash fire blast!'

A powerful beam of light raced a large jet of fire towards Paul's team, the power of both causing ripples in the air. Paul grinned savagely in expectation, waiting for the right moment...

* * *

The resulting explosion sent shock-waves in all directions, both trainers and referee struggled to stay upright on their podiums. Tucker frantically tried to pierce the resulting smoke with his eyes, for some reason feeling little nervous, as if something wasn't quite right, despite the evidence in front of him. The smoke finally settled, revealing a white and blue ghost pokemon, laid out on the ground motionless. Tucker sighed in relief. _But wait, where's Electivire?_

'Metaaa?'

Startled, Tucker reverted his gaze back toward his own pokemon. Something was wrong with Metagross, the pokemon had a pained look on its face. To the Dome Ace's horror, Metagross suddenly began to plummet towards the ground, spiralling wildly out of control. Both Metagross and Salamence impacted on the arena floor hard. Tucker frantically called out their names. In answer, Salamence climbed to its feet again, flapping its wings. But Metagross, the steel-type lay motionless on the arena floor.

Tucker looked on, confused, afraid even, his brain trying to make sense of what his eyes were telling him, knowing something had gone horribly wrong, but unable to understand how Metagross was defeated after not taking even a single blow.

A loud cry filled the stadium.

All eyes turned upwards, the crowd gasped as one as a large yellow pokemon fell out the darkness of the ceiling, falling in a blur, directly towards Salamence, its fist raised, cracking with electricity, prepared to slam every last bit of power it had into it and his master's enemy. Salamence raised it's head in shock, flames gathering in it's mouth.

'Electii-VIRE!'

Electivire landed on the dragon pokemon's back and without hesitation, smashed a glowing fist into the top of it's head.

* * *

A second shock-wave passed through the stadium, Dome Ace and the crowd both desperately trying to catch up with what was happening, but the result was clear to see a moment later. Metagross and Salamence lay side by side, both unconscious. Electivire stood over them both, breathing heavily. Raising a stunned face, Tucker looked over at Paul again. The young trainer made no reaction, his head hung low, hair hiding his eyes.

'Huh...er...Salamence and Metagross are unable to battle. The winner of the match is...is...Paul!' The referee said hesitantly.

Paul raised his head. It was hard to describe what he was feeling exactly. Jubilation maybe. Satisfaction...maybe that was closer. He raised two pokeballs, turning his pokemon into red light. Paul looked at the two balls for a moment before placing them back on his belt. The Dome was still dead silent, the entire audience in a state of shock. As the purple-haired trainer looked forward again, he could see Tucker slowly walking across the battlefield towards him. After a moment of consideration, Paul climbed down from his platform to meet him.

The Dome Ace stared at him for a long moment before holding out a hand. After a moment's hesitation, Paul took it, returning the handshake. After all, Tucker had certainly proved tougher than he'd previously believed. _Even if he still looks absurd._

'What you did out there, it was beyond anything I've ever seen before. I understand now...destiny bond, motor drive, it was brilliant. You have certainly earned this symbol,' he finished holding out a gold badge with his free hand. Paul took it, half-amused by the look of shock and awe on the brain's face.

'Thank you.' Paul turned to leave.

'Wait...'

Paul didn't pause.

Tucker stared after him conflicting thoughts of awe and something else, unsure what he had really planned to say. It had been a brilliant finish, but something felt wrong, Paul had commanded his pokemon with no regard for their well-being, allowing his pokemon to take that last attack...it was like he had to win, whatever the cost. Tucker shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He would not forget that challenger for a long time. Around him the crowd sat, motionless, silent.

* * *

'So Paul beat him then.'

'Uh huh. It was quite a remarkable turnaround. You weren't joking when you said he was good,' Scott replied.

Reggie leaned forward towards the screen, his expression serious. 'Oh, he's good. But be careful. Paul will go to any length to achieve victory. Now he's started, he won't give in, no matter what the cost.'

'I think I have an idea of what you mean. Him and Ash are the total opposites of each other, just like you said. I sure wish I'd been there to see them battle, that must have been something...'

'You have no idea.' Reggie paused for a moment. 'Wish him luck when you next see him. Whether he thinks so or not, he's gonna need it.'

'Sure my man. Later Reggie.'

'See you Scott.'

The large man walked out of the pokemon centre and adjusted his sunglasses against the evening sun. _This one could be a lot of fun..._

* * *

Several miles north, a pokemon trainer with purple hair strode confidently along a dirt track. A large cave loomed ahead of him, signifying the beginning the cleverly named rock cave. A pain to be, but necessarily. According to the directions he'd received, the next facility, the Battle Factory, was only on the other side of the rocky pass. Paul stepped forward, then paused and looked back. In the fading light, he made out the Battle Dome, oddly quiet now. Paul half-smiled to himself. Reggie was right, he was glad he had come on this journey, but it wasn't for the reason his brother thought he should be here. Reggie thought he was missing something, but in truth Paul knew he had everything he needed to succeed already. He had needed only to re-discover it within himself again. Never again would he doubt his abilities. Fingering a golden badge in his pocket, Paul turned and plunged into the darkness...


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4. A little shorter and not nearly as exciting as the previous one sorry, I wanted to try and build the story a little and work on Paul's character, instead of him just running from brain to brain. As always reviews are welcome :) (and also thanks goes out to BlueRika I took your advice about the dividers its a good point cheers)**

A light ahead. After over twenty-four hours underground, Paul finally pulled himself through the hole in the ceiling of the cave and emerged into the howling winds. The rock cave had taken more time to transverse than he had originally planned. Despite successfully navigating his way through the rocky pass almost two years ago when he was last in Kanto, much had changed since and worse, the cave had caved in towards the end, giving him no alternative but to smash his way out using his Aggron. The purple haired trainer straightened up. He was still south of where he should be, had he traversed the cave successfully, but Paul was unable to successfully recognize any of the features around him. The problem was he had spent too little time here before to get to know the area at all, during his Kanto journey he had rushed through the area in a flash on his way to Lavender town. Paul signed and held up his Pokenav, trying to get a lock on his location.

'Aaarrg-ron.' The iron armor pokemon disloged more of the boulders, creating an even larger hole in the roof of the tunnel as it clambered it's way out. Unaffected by the wind, Aggron lumbered over to it's master, awaiting any furthur commands.

_Great, no signal. _Paul shoved his poke-nav back into his pocket in annoyance as he looked at the sky. Large dark clouds covered any hint of blue, while strong wind blew his hair and jacket around. The cloud cover was clearly the problem, blocking any hope of signal. Without looking back, Paul held up a pokeball, recalling Aggron as he considered his next move. Despite the pokenav, he could still of-sorts find his way. From looking at the map back in the Battle Dome before he left, he knew the Battle Factory lay on the eastern coast by the sea, just below Cerulean's famous Cape. And Paul knew he could not be far from the sea, the line of rocky mountains hid it from his view a few miles to the east, but under normal circumstances, it wouldn't take long to cross them. Hit the sea, and it would be a simple matter of following the coast north until he hit his destination. _Taking such a long route though, this is going to take twice as long as it should! _Paul swore under his breath. _Or I could stay here, wait a day or longer for the storm to pass, try again for signal, then go in a straight line..._Paul considered looking back into the shelter of the cave, then rejected the idea. He'd wasted enough time getting out of that blasted tunnel, he wasn't about to waste any more. Besides there was no guarantee that this storm would pass soon or that his pokenav would be able to get signal when it did. _This supposed short-cut has already proved more trouble than its worth... _Paul thought as he adjusted his backpack, then set off east, picking a route through the maze of boulders...

* * *

Several miles north...

Scott bounced around in the driver's seat of his convertible, the red sports car jumping in all directions as it shot down the dirt road. _Why Noland chose such a far out place for his facility is beyond me... _he thought. Established roads ended when he passed through Cerulean, the last five miles had all been off road. Still Scott could understand the frontier brain's reasoning, with such a large array of different pokemon to take care of, maybe it was better to keep out of the general public's way. And anyway, Scott certainly preferred the quiet of the outdoors, compared to the chaos of the Battle Dome a few days ago...

_It sure was an interesting battle..._ Scott thought about the new challenger and his debut battle in the Dome as he drove. At start, it seemed that the fight had been over before it began, with every attack of Paul's neutralized by Tucker's superior tactics, then out of literally nowhere, the young trainer had struck back and claimed the win, destroying the Dome Ace's strongest team in almost a single stroke._ And the way he did it... _Scott shook his head and accelerated, picking up more speed. This next battle would help him make his mind up about Paul. The Battle Factory, presented a interesting challenge and in Scott's opinion, a far better test of a trainer's raw battling skill and knowledge than the Battle Dome.

A flash of light caught the Frontier owner's attention, to the south storm clouds loomed, hanging low over the mountains. Rain clouds would form over the sea to Kanto's east coast and often get blown inland, releasing their load at they hit the coastal mountains. Scott shuddered wishing he had something more on than his usual simple summer shirt and shorts combo, then put his foot to the floor, sending all dials into the red, eager to reach the facility before the storm reached him. _Paul was planning on coming through the mountains... sure hope the kids alright..._

* * *

Paul zipped his blue coat up at far as it could go, before shoving his hands back into their pockets, his face down, leaning into the wind. The weather had taken a turn for the worst, Paul had only made half the distance he had expected in the last five hours. Making things worse, rain had started to fall heavily, reducing his visibility. By any normal rights he should have reached the coast by now, but thanks the the ferocity of the storm he now found himself in, he was still stuck in the mountains and with visibility reduced, it was hard to tell just how far he had to go. The temperature had continued to drop as the day wore on as well. Paul gritted his teeth, then pushed forward with greater determination. At the very least, he was going the reach the sea before nightfall, he could not believe how much time had already been wasted by his bad fortune.

Two hours later, Paul came to a forced halt, absolutely spent. The weather was not letting up, the howling winds were being channeled between the two mountains Paul was trying to pass between, bringing with it terenchal rain, soaking him to the skin. The sun had long since passed below the horizon leaving Paul with little light to work with, only the occasional flash of lighting allowed him any view, the moon having no hope of piecing the cloudy cover above. Paul swore angrily, his hair plastered to his forehead. This was ridiculous, he wasn't even sure if he was heading in the right direction anymore. As much as he wanted to keep going, even he had to accept getting lost in this weather in the middle of the night was not going to help him. And the slitly honest part of his mind wasn't sure if he was even capable of contimuing anyway. The trainer turned his back to the wind and rain and sat down heavily, looking around for somewhere remotly feasable where he could set up camp, preferably out of the damned wind. Unfortunately his usual sleeping bag wasn't excatly going to cut it by itself, he needed some form of shelter as well. _And Im not going to find it sat here..._Paul forced himself back to his feet and began to make his way wearily back the way he came, back down off the mountains...

* * *

'My my. This storms not slacking off at all,' Scott exclaimed, looking through the window while sipping a cup of warm cocoa.

'It happens.' A man behind him waved a hand dismissively. 'You should have some here a week sooner, we've had red hot weather constantly for the last month, suppose we were due a bit of rain.'

'It never rains, but it pours I suppose...' Scott turned away from the window and walked back to the table where the other man sat, taking another sip as he walked. 'I assume you manged to get all the pokemon back in before it hit, Noland?'

The frontier brain nodded. 'Yeah I sent Sergio and the boys out to get all the pokemon in as soon as it started, we could all tell it was going to be a bad one.' Noland leaned forward, crossing his arms and leaning on the table in front of him. 'I surprised to see you here so soon Scott. You don't usually appear til the next challenger shows up.'

'Yeah well let's just say that im eager to watch this kid battle again. Hes got what you would call, a unique way of battling.'

'What, you mean this one is actually good?' Noland responded raising an eyebrow. Scott fell off his chair in a crash.

'Hey all the challengers I find are good! Just because you won the last three...'

'Please, the last one didn't even know Manectric was an electric type, let alone what attacks it could use. Pinser had no choice but to mow the the little critter down. I felt bad just doing it.'

'Well, with some pokemon, it can be hard to figure out what type they are straight away...'

'Yeah, the yellow coat does make things confusing,' the Factory head replied sarcastically. 'I mean anyone could have got that confused. 'Use fire spin,' really smart command!'

'Maybe he thought it was a Growlithe...'Scott mused picking himself back up, then started to chuckle. Noland laughed as well.

'So Scott when is the new boy meant to arrive anyway?'

Scott turned around and stared out of the window again. 'Well he set off almost two days ago. To be honest I thought he would have made it already. Guess the weather must be giving him a bit of trouble...'

* * *

Paul began to shiver violently, despite his best efforts. After an hour or retracing his steps and still not finding anywhere suitable for spending the night, Paul took things into his own hands.

'Now s, standby...Aggron.'

The iron armor pokemon roared as it appeared in again flash of light, then cried out in shock at the circumstances of it's arrival.

'Now Aggron, I n, need you to d, dig a cave into the ground now,' Paul ordered, trying to inject some authority into his voice, crossing his arms across his chest as tight as he could. Aggron whimpered in pain as it started to paw at the ground. The rock-steel type was weak to water as it was, but this was like having to endure a constant waterfall attack. Aggron struggled as it pulled away at the grass and dirt in the side of the mountain, its limbs feeling stiff and weak.

'Just be quiet and get on with it.' Paul growled. 'Use focus blast if its really that difficult...'

His pokemon stopped digging and took half a step backwards, forming a blue sphere of energy between it's claws, before slamming it into the side of the mountain sending rocks and dirt flying into the air. Paul walked forward quickly, hunched over, as he did a quick evaluation of Aggron's work. _Well its not exactly neat, but I guess it'l work..._Gratefully Paul walked inside the makeshift cave, glad to be finally out of the rain and wind.

'Aaaaggg-ron...'

Paul span around just in time to see his pokemon fall forward, overcome. _What the... _he looked in disbelief for a moment before fumbling around with numb fingers, returning Aggron to it's pokeball. Paul looked in disgust at the pokeball. 'A little rain...and you just give up?' Taking his backpack off, he began to pull the contents out, _I didn't collapse in the rain, what gives Aggron any right to? _Paul fumed quietly. Shaking out a thin sleeping bag, not even bothering to remove his wet clothes, Paul climbed inside, exhaustion quickly taking over.

* * *

'Noland, Noland!' A young man in his twenties suddenly burst into the little kitchen, making Scott and the frontier Brain jump. 'Noland, we've got a serious problem!'

'Sergio chill out man. Whats the deal?'

The newcomer was completely soaked, a panicked look on his face. 'Noland, we looked all over, the others are still out there. But we can't find it!'

'Find what? Calm down and tell me whats wrong.'

'It's Charmeleon!' He when missing this morning, we thought he was just in one of his moods again. But he isn't back and what with this rain...'

Noland leapt to his feet. 'You mean to tell me, Charmeleon is outside in this weather? Why wasn't I told sooner!'

'I've only just got back...we've been out for that hours-'

'It doesn't matter. All that matters is we find that pokemon now. No fire types going to last long in this weather! Not even a Manectric..' he added slyly to Scott as they hurried out of the room, Scott immediately fell on his face.

* * *

Paul woke suddenly, he felt frozen to the bone. It had been a mistake to fall asleep with his wet clothes on and now it was too late, his body was totally numb, unable to move. _So cold.._. Even his brain seemed to be working at half speed, it took several confused moments to remember where he was. The cave was pitch-black, clearly it was the middle of the night outside. Paul gritted his teeth, then with a huge effort, pulled himself into the sitting position, still in his sleeping bag. Outside the wind and the rain still howled. He needed to get warm. _Why did I leave Magmorter with Reggie? _He had sent it over while in Lavender, exchanging it for Haryiama, thinking at the time the fighting type would be more useful, should he run into any unruly rock types on his trip.

A sound of scuffling hit Paul's ears.

Adrenaline surging, Paul immediately looked up, a hand searching on the floor next to him for a pokeball, forgetting the cold. Pokemon of all kinds roamed these hills and not all were friendly. His eyes searched the darkness. A strange flickering flame danced to his front and strange labored breathing filled the makeshift cave. Abandoning his search for his pokemon, Paul instead grasped the torch out the top of his backpack and switched it on. Blinking his eyes rapidly, the pokemon trainer flashed the torch left and right before finding the source of the noise. Laid on the ground, a few feet into the cave, lay a smallish red and orange pokemon, eyes half closed, its tail flickering barely alight...

**Chapter 5 will be up soon. I was tempted to combine 4 and 5 to make a longer chapter, but I prefer short and sweet. **


	5. Chapter 5

**So will Noland find his missing pokemon? Will Paul freeze to death on the mountain? It'd make this story a lot easier if he did i suppose... Hope you like the next part :)**

Paul stared at the injured pokemon. Charmeleon hadn't even seen him yet, the pokemon was crying pitifully as it continued to drag itself into the cave out of the rain. Paul had never owned any of the Charmander evolutions, but had seen and faced enough to know something about their makeup. And it didn't take a expert to tell this charmeleon was on its way out, maybe even beyond saving. The flame at the end of it's tail was tiny, barley flickering. Even as he watched the fire type slumped forward, eyes closing as it fell into unconsciousness.

Paul studied it a moment longer with calculating eyes. The most obvious thing to do would be to throw the thing back outside again, or better yet, get one of his pokemon to do it for him. Charmeleon could wake up again and the last thing he needed after the day he'd had was to fall asleep, then wake up to find Charmeleon had stolen all his food supplies, or attacked him in his sleep.

Or he could just simply catch it. The thing was right there for the picking, one pokeball would easily catch it in its weakened state. As he had six pokemon already, the pokeball would get sent back to his brother and that would be that. And the idea of one day owning a charizard did appeal slightly. _Still will any charizard this one evolves into have any real power? If this one was stupid enough to get caught out in the rain, it doesn't exactly show much promise to be a powerful charizard... _Then again, wasn't he wanting wanting a fire type anyway just a moment ago?_ Anything to get warmed up... _Paul thought, fighting off another wave of shivers. If this pokemon was going to be of any use to him here, then he couldn't catch it yet. _Unless I released something... _Aggron jumped to mind immediately, but Paul dismissed it, he'd give it another chance to redeem itself. As it was Paul didn't have much hope for the fire type improving his current condition anyway, but he wasn't going to achieve anything by just staying in one place and freezing, he might as well give healing this charmeleon a shot. _Beggars can't be choosers after all..._

Trying to shake off the numbness, Paul climbed out of his bag and reached down, locating Gastrodon's pokeball. Holding it at the ready, he approached the orange pokemon slowly, ready to release it and order it's most powerful water attacks at it's disposal at the slightest sign of aggression. However, as he got closer, it was clear Charmeleon was far too weak to be any threat. Placing the pokeball back on his belt, Paul bent over, studying the fire type. Charmeleon was stirring fitfully in it's sleep, sweat drenched its forehead. _Properly delirious..._Paul winced as a stray, ice cold gust caught him in the entrance. Hesitating once more briefly, the trainer knelt down and picked up the fire type quickly, carrying it to the back of the cave...

* * *

'I don't understand how this happened! How did Charmeleon get separated from the main group anyway?'

'You know what Charmeleons like, ever since it evolved its been a handful, it never wants to play with its friends anymore, it often wanders off on its own.' Sergio replied to his boss, wiping the rain from his face.

'Hey guys, wait up, some of us arn't all that used to the whole running thing...' Scott panted as he finally caught up to the pair, holding a giant golf umbrella over his head in one hand and a torch in the other.

The Factory Head growled, clenching his fists. It was true, as a charmander, the pokemon had got on with the other pokemon well, but ever since it evolved, it seemed to of gained a attitude. More than that, Noland even had to remove it from the usual rotation of pokemon in the Factory because it had even started to refuse orders given by challenging trainers. But now it was stuck out in this storm...he had to find it! 'We're not going to achieve anything by running around on foot.'

Scott shot him a quizzical look. 'You want me to get my car?'

'No way. I've got something much better in mind.' With a smirk, Noland ran off back to the factory. Scott watched him go with a sinking feeling. _Surely he hasn't, not again... _

Two minutes later Frontier brain, owner and apprentice were traveling across the rugged terrain at a high speed. 'What...ow...is...argh...this...etch...thing!' Scott shouted as he hit the roof, then the floor, then the roof again of the bizarre vehicle.

'Hahaaa. This Noland K 5, and its the best one so far. With this dream machine carrying us away, there's no way that Charmeleon will stay hidden for long!'

'Don't you...ouch...always...eek...call them a dream machine...humph...right before they...argh...crash?' Sergio shouted from the back.

'Na don't worry, now hold on tight, this next bit could get a little rough...' Noland shouted back as the armored tank launched off a small cliff.

'AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!'

* * *

Paul rummaged his way through his backpack, looking for his potions, eyes still on the stray pokemon. The flame on it's tail had grown even dimmer in the last few minutes, the fire type was clearly on its way out. Finally his hand prushed upon something solid. Paul pulled it out, revealing a small healing spray bottle in his hand. A small purple and white bottle with a pokeball logo at the top to be exact. The potion wouldn't bring the pokemon back to full health, but it would at least revive it a little. In fact, Paul was fine with the thing staying unconscious, long as the flame on it's tail got a little brighter.

The fire pokemon made no reaction, eyes still closed, as Paul sprayed a little on it's skin. The pokemon trainer sat back, running a hand through his hair frustrated as shivers wracked through his body again. _Wasting my time again..._

Suddenly Charmeleon stirred. Paul tensed up again, hand reaching for Gastrodon's pokeball, but the orange pokemon simply rolled over in it's sleep, it's expression softening. It's tail, now raised in the air began to burn brightly. Paul relaxed as a wave of heat began fill the cave. _Finally, a bit of luck. _The pokemon trainer leaned back against the cave wall. Sleep was out of the question, but at least he would survive the night.

A pair of green aggressive eyes, inches from his face, were the first thing he saw when he woke. 'AAARGH,' Paul shouted in shock, scrambling backwards as fast as he could towards the exit. Sunlight filled the cave, Paul suddenly became aware of three things all at the same time. One, he'd fallen asleep despite his best efforts while being in the company of a wild and possibly dangerous pokemon. Two, that pokemon was now very much awake and stood in the center of the cave, it's eyes trained on on Paul, it's legs bent preparing to pounce. And three, all Paul's pokemon, contained in their capsules, were behind the fire type, in his backpack, in the back of the cave.

Neither human or pokemon moved, then suddenly they moved at he same time. Paul flipped himself to his feet, Charmeleon spang forward, it's mouth wide, aiming for the trainer's face. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion as Paul dived forward, underneath the fire type as it flew over him out of the cave, the trainer feeling the heat from the missed flamethrower. Hitting the dirt and still sliding into the cave, Paul grapped at a random pokeball from his backpack and threw it after the charmeleon. In a flash of light the orge scorp pokemon burst forward, raising it's two pincers on it's arms and the one on it's tail threateningly. 'Drapion, smash it with cross poison!' Paul yelled, still on the floor.

Drapion crossed it's arms, forming a purple cross, before sending that cross flying at Charmeleon. To Paul's surprise, as he clambered to his feet, the fire pokemon dodged the attack easily, showing remarkable agility as it leapt into the air, before firering another flamethrower at his pokemon. Both Drapion and it's trainer ran in opposite directions out of the cave as the flamethrower impacted between them. 'Drapion, pin missile!' Paul commanded, determined to put an end to this, his pokemon sending dozens of streaks of white light at the fire type. To his surprise yet again, Charmeleon responded once more, this time with what looked like a fire spin, both attacks colliding and forming a cloud of smoke. _That's some impressive strength for a wild pokemon. I wonder if... _His thoughts were cut short as Charmeleon suddenly flew out of the smoke headfirst, impacting hard into Drapion, the purple pokemon reeling backwards from the headbutt, its spine bending over almost double. 'Drapion, spin and grab it!' Using it's species uncanny ability to full rotate its head, Drapion's head span round, catching sight of the fire type, shot out it's tail and grabbed it before it touched the ground.

Charmeleon snarled angrily, scratching at the pincer with it's claws, trying to break free, but to no avail. Paul smirked, he got it now. 'Drapion finish it with cross poison.' Another purple cross flew forward, this time impacting into its target, Paul watched in satisfaction as Drapion then proceeded to smash the fire type into the ground. _Hmph not so strong after all are you. _He held up Drapion's pokeball to call his creature back as he watched Charmeleon struggle on the ground, too exhausted to get back to its feet. _You won't be troubling me again._

'Ccccharrrrr!'

The fire pokemon suddenly climbed to it's feet, it's tail flaring in all directions. Paul watched stunned as the fire continued to grow, almost double to size of his Drapion. _Is that...Blaze? _After seeing it several times over the last few months, it was unmistakable. Charmeleon opened it's mouth wide and drew in a large breath as Drapion crouched, cowering.

'Char?'

A small puff of smoke flew out of the fire pokemon's mouth as it fell forward, landing heavily on it's face. Paul and his pokemon relaxed. _If that power could be controlled... _A sense of deja vu washed over him and he knew why, he'd been down this road already. _But still..._Making up his mind, Paul put Drapion's pokeball back on his belt. If he couldn't capture it now, then he'd simply have to carry it until be could swap a few pokemon around with Reggie. 'Drapion grap Charmeleon and don't let him go. Fire another cross poison if it tries to escape. Now follow me.'

It was time to get off these damned mountains.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6. Paul's battle with his second frontier brain is almost here. Hope you enjoy and please review:)**

'Ohhh man, there is no way I am ever getting in that thing again...' Scott moaned weakly as he crawled out to the back door.

'Well gee sorry about that, I guess the steering still needs a bit of work... hope this won't affect my next pay cheque boss,' Noland apologized sheepishly.

'Well at least that thing isn't going to move again, I think I broke my...everything...' Sergio complained leaning against a nearby tree, his face oddly green.

The trio looked over at the ruined vehicle, the Noland K 5 was embedded in a giant oak tree, the force of the impact had nearly ripped the tree from it's roots. The search had gone through the night, but Charmeleon still hadn't turned up, with Noland's armored tank ploughing into a nearby tree soon after sunrise. The steering had oddly disappeared as soon as he turned off the headlights. _Must be a few crossed wires somewhere, if I could just fix those, then jump start the engine maybe... _'You know guys, if you give me a little time, maybe I could...'

'No. No way. Don't even think about it. I am not getting back in that thing,' Sergio said, closing his eyes and sliding down the tree, legs collapsing underneath him.

'Come on man! We gotta do something. Charmeleons still out there. And we can't keep going on foot...'

'You know, the weathers a lot better this morning...' Scott interrupted looking up at the bright sun. 'If Charmeleons ok, I bet it's on it's way back to the factory right now.'

'If it's ok...' Noland replied worrying.

'I'm sure it is. The best thing to do right now is go back, we've been searching all night.' Scott sighed wearily. 'Its sure gonna be a long walk back though.'

'Not if I can help it!' Noland shouted, pulling a spanner out of his coat and brandishing it in the air. From the foot of the tree, Sergio moaned loudly. The Factory Head struck a victorious pose, before turning and sprinting back towards his invention.

'You think he can actually fix that thing?' Scott asked.

'Judging by my luck, I'm sure he will...I need a new job,' the factory apprentice said weakly.

Five minutes later, the Noland K 5 was speeding back along the dirt track, retracing the route taken the night before. Despite the damage taken, the frontier brain had some how managed to repair and restart the vehicle, somehow removing even the dents in the front of the vehicle and even fixing the shattered windscreen, all by only using his spanner.

'You know Noland, in another time, you could have made a good mechanic,' Scott told him. Noland laughed.

'Hmph yeah right. With him building cars, there'd certainly be less people on the road!' Sergio muttered.

Noland laughed again before catching sight of a pair of strange figures ahead on the road. What looked like a young man was walking along the dirt road to his front, followed closely by a large purple and black creature with a long spine and tail. As they drew closer, Noland recognised it as a Drapion. 'Hey Scott, we got company...'

The large man squeezed alongside him in the driver's seat. Immediately a wide smile appeared on his face. 'Aaa finally! I was wondering when he would appear.'

'Friend of yours..?'

'In a way. There's your new challenger right ahead.'

Noland had forgotten all about the new challenger, the search for Charmeleon had occupied all his thoughts. 'Oh well, better offer him a lift then.' Noland flicked a switch by the steering wheel to flash the headlights, trying to get the trainers attention, but nothing happened. 'Guess I just better pull over near him then...' Noland pulled at the steering wheel, but it had no effect. With a sinking feeling he pressed the brake to find it simply move under the pressure with no resistance. _Oh yeah, using the headlights breaks the vehicle..._

'Um, Scott...'

'Uh huh?' The frontier chief grunted, his eyes still fixed on the young trainer ahead, blissfully unaware of the look of panic in Noland's face.

'JUMP!'

'Oh no, not again!' Sergio screamed, grasping at the back door.

* * *

Paul continued down the vehicle tracks, his hand holding a pokenav in font of him. Behind him, his large poison type pokemon followed, a smaller orange pokemon clasped in it's front pincers. With the improved weather, the pokenav had finally started working, showing him his location. To his mingled relief and fury, it showed him to be only a few miles south of the Battle Factories location. If he'd only known the right direction last night, he could have easily made it. Instead he'd gone off at a right angle, aiming for the sea and spent a miserable night in the rain. Paul shook his damp clothes and put the thought out of his mind. _Whatever. It doesn't matter now. _And anyway he might have gained something positive out of it anyway as he remembered the fire type currently held in Drapion's claws.

It had been impulsive. Paul wasn't even really sure why he was bothering. Charmeleon had proved more trouble than it was worth already, after waking up again, soon they set off from the cave. The fire type had kicked up a massive fuss, hitting Drapion with fire attacks at close range and roaring loudly, struggling against the poison type's grip. In the end, Paul had no choice other than to put the thing to sleep, using his Froslass. At the moment it was sleeping soundly, hanging limply in his pokemon's claws. _But still that blaze... _Paul had tried to unlock that power in a fire type once before, but had never succeeded. Many had offered reasons why, but Paul had ignored them all, eventually giving up and abandoning it, only for it to be used against him, mastered by a trainer Paul had once considered to be weak. Was this regret then, did he regret not trying harder with Chimchar, was that why he was interested in this new fire type? Paul looked back over his shoulder at Charmeleon considering. Could this one be any different maybe?

A low rumbling reached Paul's ears, the sound of a engine slowly growing louder. Looking under one of Drapion's large arms, the trainer made out what looked like some form of vehicle approaching. _What the hell is it? _As it drew closer, Paul began to see it in greater detail. Two large exhausts poked out of the top of the vehicle coughing out large volumes of black smoke, instead of wheels, a pair of tracks ran on either side, chewing up the ground. At the front, a large iron girder covered the front bonnet forming a large battering ram. As he watched, suddenly doors on either side of the vehicle sprang open and three figures fell out, impacting hard in the rough dirt. _That thing isn't going to stop... _The pokemon trainer dived out of the way as the armored car sped towards him, Drapion cried out in pain and shock at it ran into it's back. The poison type went flying to one side, losing grip on Charmeleon as it spun away. Not even slowing down, the strange vehicle flew past and continued going, disappearing into the distance. Paul picked himself up, brushing dirt off his clothes as he stared after it. Drapion climbed to it's feet painfully, then started to panic as it looked at it's now empty pincers. It's trainer immediately span around looking for the fire type, catching sight of it land further down the road, hitting the ground hard. Paul sighed running his hand though his hair. The day had barely begun and already it was turning out to be worse than the last one. Those thoughts confirmed themselves as he looked up, seeing the armored vehicle return along the path, heading for him once again.

Charmeleon landed heavily on the ground, waking up suddenly. Memories of the last twenty-four hours came rushing back, it leapt to it's feet, determined to punish the human and purple creature that had attacked him, when a loud rumbling filled it's ears. Turning around, Charmeleon caught sight of the advancing vehicle. Eyes narrowing, it puffed it's chest out angrily, then drew a deep breath it prepared to attack, then unleashed a ball of flame at the tank. The flame passing over it without effect. The orange pokemon's eyes widened in shock...

'Stand by... Aggron!'

A huge metallic creature appeared in front of Charmeleon. 'Block it!' Paul shouted. Aggron threw it's arms forward, impacting into the vehicle as it reached it, stopping it's movement. Aggron stained as the tracks of the vehicle span uselessly in the dirt.

'Double-edge now!'

Aggron flashed white once before roaring and smashing a forearm into it's bonnet, crushing the front of the vehicle then flattening the entire front half. Charmeleon looked on in shock as the iron armor pokemon then proceeded to rip apart the vehicle with it's bare hands.

'NOOO! Stop! What are you doing?' Paul span around, the three figures he'd seen jump from the vehicle were running towards him, one ahead of the others. The leading man ran right past him, up to the ruined remains of the tank, then fell to his knees groaning.

'Hey Paul my boy hows it going?' Paul recognised the overweight guide from the Dome, Scott adjusted his glasses as he studied the young pokemon trainer. 'You look like you've had a rough night...'

'Its fine,' Paul responded impatiently. 'Aggron return now.' Aggron flew back into the pokeball. 'Whats wrong with him?' He inquired looking at the kneeling man next the the pile of scrap metal.

'Don't worry about him, You did us all a favour by destroying it.' A younger man with green hair walked around Scott. 'Hey is that your Charmeleon?' he added catching sight of the fire pokemon.

'Well not exactly...'

'Charmeleon!' Sergio cried out in relief as he suddenly recognised it. 'We've all been so worried, where have you been?' The frontier apprentice ran towards the fire type happily, arms wide ready to give it a hug.

'Charrgh!'

Sergio froze as a wave of fire engulfed his face. 'Charmeleon what is your...problem?' He cried out weakly, falling to the ground, his face blackened. Paul fought back a smile, then his mouth fell open as a sudden realization washed over him.

'Wait, you mean, this is your...' Paul groaned. All that time, carrying it all that way, and he couldn't even catch it after all.

'Yeah this is my Charmeleon,' Sergio replied picking himself back up. 'Well kinda is... My names Sergio by the way, apprentice to the Battle Factory Head Noland. Thanks a lot for bringing it back, I really appreciate it.' Sergio pulled a red and white pokeball out from underneath his coat and pointed it a Charmeleon, recalling it into its pokeball.

'No problem,' Paul growled as he watched Charmeleon turn into red light. 'Wait, did you say Battle Factory?'

'Yeah that's right. And over there is none other than the Factory Head Noland.' Scott interrupted.

Paul looked over again at the kneeling man, Noland was now pulling pieces of ruined machinery out of the ruins and examining them, cursing as he worked. 'That's the Factory Head?'

'The one and only. Hey Noland!' Scott shouted over. 'Aren't you going to introduce yourself to the young trainer here?'

Noland looked up, 'You know guys if you give me a little time...' he said, a hand rummaging inside his coat.

'If you get that spanner out, I will personally knock you out with it,' Sergio growled.

A look of shock crossed Noland's face before nervously laughing. 'Yeah I guess it might be a bit far gone this time...' The Factory head stood and walked over to Paul. 'So you're the new kid in town. It's nice to meet you. I've been hearing good things. My name is Noland, and I'm Head of the Battle factory,' he finished looking down on the pokemon trainer with a confident grin.

'Likewise. My name is Paul from Veilstone city and I'd like to challenge you to a pokemon battle.'

The Factory Head laughed. 'Confident and straight to the point eh. I like that. But we need to get back to the factory first. And it looks like we're walking...' he said looking wistfully again at the metal ruins.

'Don't even think about it...' Sergio muttered.

Noland gave another nervous laugh. 'Well walking it is.' With that the frontier brain set off along the dirt track, Scott and Sergio following close behind. Paul shook his head.

'Drapion return.'

With that, he shoved his hands back in his pockets and set off after them.

* * *

An hour later, Paul caught his first look at the battle factory.

Smaller than the Dome, but still huge, Paul's first impression was that of a large steel works, like the factories back on Iron Island in Sinnoh. Large chimneys poked out of the complex's roof spilling white steam into the air. The whole place had a gloomy look to it, from the outside the windows were blackened and the walls looked dirty. _They really live here?_

'Ah finally home sweet home,' Noland cried out happily. 'Paul i'd like to welcome you to the Battle Factory. I hope you enjoy your stay.'

'Thanks, but I won't be staying long,' Paul replied quickly. 'Now I like to have that battle straight away if you don't mind. My pokemon are ready.'

Behind him, Scott chuckled quietly. Noland smirked, 'My, you are keen aren't you? But that's not quite how we do things round here. Come, I want to show you around.'

'Noland, I'm going to take Charmeleon back down to the others,' Sergio said walking towards a side door.

'Yeah good idea. We'l be down there in a moment. Now my young friend follow on if you please.' With that Noland turned and began to walk over to the main entrance. Paul sighed in frustration and followed. Scott stayed where he was and looked on, a wide grin on his face.

* * *

'Welcome to the main stage!'

A pair of sliding door slid open as Factory head and challenger entered. Paul took around him, taking in the large battlefield below. 'Check it out, I designed this place myself. The battlefield is sunk into the ground with raised platforms so trainers can keep a good eye on their pokemon at all times. On top of that, look at the ceiling!' He exclaimed pressing a button in the wall. Paul raised his gaze to the roof in time to see it split evenly into eight sections, each moving outwards revealing a blue sky. 'We had this built in so any flying pokemon can battle to their full potential.'

'What's the format for the battle?' Paul asked, his mind already running over several possibilities as he stared at the arena.

'Three on three. A winner is declared when all three of one sides pokemon are unable to continue, substitutions are not permitted for either side. But anyway speak of the devil, lets go down and see the pokemon in question. I'm sure you're keen to see how Charmeleons doing.'

'Yeah sure,' Paul answered in annoyance. It was clear the Factory Head was going at his own speed, for now he'd just have to play along.

Noland leading the way the pair walked back out of the arena and continued down a long corridor, then took a door on the right. As Paul followed, the sounds of many pokemon started to grow. 'And here we are!' Noland exclaimed, throwing open a final door. 'Hey guys, everyone say hi!'

'Saurrr!'

'Hit-mon-lee!'

'Rai-rai'

'Haunt-ter'

'Mach-amp!'

A barrage of pokemon cries reached Paul. Looking down from the platform where Paul and Noland stood, below many different pokemon ran around, some playing, others feeding and some just standing still looking back. In one corner the purple haired boy spotted Charmeleon. The fire type stood with it's arms crossed, leaning against the wall looking up at Paul, meeting his gaze steadily with narrowed eyes. 'Are all these your pokemon?' Paul asked surprised.

'Yep. They're all my buddies down there. And there the ones we'l be battling with...'

Paul looked around the room with a calculating eye. All the pokemon looked well trained, but with the odd exception, maybe Venusaur, none of them looked overly powerful. He couldn't know for sure, but he felt fairly certain his pokemon were stronger. _Wait..._

'Wait, did you say 'we'?'

The frontier brain smiled. 'That's right. Here in the the battle factory, everyone uses rental pokemon, chosen totally at random. Some trainers like to capture and use powerful pokemon, others prefer using type advantages. But in my opinion, the only way to truly test the trainer's skill in battle is to make him use a pokemon he knows nothing about. All my pokemon are more or less evenly trained, all of them knowing what moves a pokemon of their species should at their level, so there's no hidden surprises. It's really a test of how well you know about pokemon in general. But then, they don't call it a knowledge symbol for nothing...' Paul stared at him shocked. _I can't use my own pokemon? _Paul had spent so long searching for and training each of his pokemon to their fullest potential, teaching them wide varieties of attacks to cover almost any type, but, in this facility, it was all going to count for nothing. _And with no substitutions allowed, each battle will be a fight to the finish, regardless of whatever type advantages come out..._

As he watched, Sergio emerged from a side door below, carrying a box of pokeballs, recalling one pokemon after the other. Noland, the Factory Head smiled as he lent on the railings at the edge of the balcony, watching his pokemon disappear.

'So Paul, you ready to rock and roll?'

Paul stared at the frontier brain's back for a moment before his face hardened, hands curling into fists.

'Let's go.'

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I changed the Battle factory rules a little to better resemble the games rather than the anime. I thought it sounded a little too easy picking your opponent's pokemon and battling it with one of your own. Granted, battling Articuno was pretty epic, but knowing Paul, he'd simply point to the nearest Bellsprout, then destroy it with Magmorter. Chapter 7 will be up before long, speak again soon. **


	7. Chapter 7

**And so Paul second frontier battle is finally here. Hope you like it :)**

Paul took his place on one platform, on the other side of the arena, Noland took his, smiling widely.

'Good luck Paul, you'l be fine!'

Paul turned to see Scott sat alone by the edge of the arena. As they locked eyes, the frontier guide gave him a thumbs up. Paul stared at him a moment longer before returning his attention to the battlefield, _Hmph, luck is right. Without my pokemon, who knows what I'm going to get paired up with... _Sergio suddenly appeared from behind Paul, carrying a large box in his hands and walked over to the referee podium to the side of the arena.

'Alright Paul, time for your lucky dip. Come and pick your three pokeballs.'

Paul walked around the sunken battlefield after Sergio, he could see Noland doing the same from the other side. Referee, trainer and frontier brain came together, the last two eyeing up each other carefully. 'Alright Paul, as the challenger, you have the right to choose first.' Sergio stated. Without a word, Paul quickly bent down and grabbed the first three pokeballs that came to hand, out of the box at his their feet. Noland made to follow, then paused, watching Paul's eyes narrow suspiciously.

'Tell you what Paul. Why don't you pick out my Pokemon as well. Just to show I'm not playing tricks...'

Slightly surprised Noland had read his thoughts so easily, Paul approached the box again, this time thrusting his hand to near the bottem. 'Here.' he said simply, passing over the chosen three to the frontier brain, his expression unreadable.

Noland smirked. 'My thanks.'

With that, both trainers returned to either side of the battlefield. Paul stared at the three pokeballs in his hand for a moment, before pocketing two and enlarging the third. Across the arena, he could see Noland had picked out a starting pokeball as well, his hand holding it limply by his side. Sergio took his place in the center as referee, a flag in either hand.

'Alright, this will be a three on three pokemon battle between Factory Head Noland and challenger Paul. A winner will be declared when all of one trainers pokemon are unable to battle. Furthermore, during this match, subsitutions will not be allowed on either side, the trainer must use their chosen pokemon until either it is unable to continue battling, or the battle is won. Are both trainer's ready?

'Ready,' Paul replied instantly.

'Let's get this show on the road,' Noland answered.

'Then.' Sergio raised both flags high. 'Let the match begin!'

'Go pokeball!' Noland shouted, throwing the capsule onto the field.

'Now, standby for battle!' Paul yelled, tossing his own. _Whatever you are..._

With a flash of white light on both sides the first pokemon were revealed. The light from Nolands pokeball flew into the air, forming into a large blue flying creature with purple wings and a large mouth, fangs poking out from it's upper and lower lip. Paul's pokeball exploded into was looked like a larger, upside down version of itself. Half red, half white, the pokemon rolled forward, screeching. Paul watched, eyes narrowing.

_Golbat against Electrode._

Noland laughed. 'Hey there Golbat, it's been a while since we battled together, good to see you again buddy. Good to see you too, Electrode,' he added looking over at Paul's side of the field. The bat pokemon turned back to face him, a look of happiness on it's face, Electrode flashed him a grin. 'Hey Paul. Don't think because you've got a type advantage, you've got this won already!' The factory head called across the battlefield. Paul made no reply, calculating his moves. _Don't worry about that Noland, I'm not going to make that mistake with you._

'Electrode spark attack now!' Immediately the ball pokemon became engulfed in crackling electricity, before sending it staight for Golbat.

'Golbat double team!' Immediately the bat pokemon split into twelve, the electricity passing through two of the fakes. 'Now shadow ball!'

Ten spheres of darkness flew towards Electrode, Paul knew only one would cause any real damage, but like the flock of bat pokemon flying above his head, it was impossible to tell them apart. _What electric move can cancel out a double team? Wait, I know. _'Electrode, shockwave!'

A wave of electricity expanded from the ball pokemon in every direction, the shadow balls impacting on the attack and turning to smoke. Ten Golbat cried out in panic as the wave came closer, before one spun away, screeching in pain.

_Not bad _Scott thought as he watched from the side. _He switched from spark to shockwave with hardly a pause. But he's got a surprise if he thinks beating Noland is going to be that easy..._

'Electrode, use shockwave again!' A crackling wave of electricity spread from Paul borrowed pokemon once more.

'Golbat confuse ray.' The two attacks passed through each other without effect, the shockwave struck Golbat again, causing it to screech in pain once more, but a ray of purple pinkish energy struck Electrode, sending it rolling backwards. 'That's it Golbat! Now hit it with your wing attack!' Noland shouted. The bat pokemon flew towards Electrode, wings surrounded by white energy.

'Electrode now, use charge beam!' Paul yelled back as he watched Golbat close in. The ball pokemon didn't seem to hear him, instead it rolled at high speed off the the right, slamming itself into the arena wall. Golbat swooped after it, side swiping it with one of it's wings, before flapping hard, regaining height.

Electrode span around slowly, the face on it's front looking dazed. Paul gritted his teeth, Electrode was confused and with no substitutions allowed, this could become a serious problem. 'Electrode wake up! Use sonicboom!'

'Golbat toxic!'

Still confused, Electrode didn't react fast enough before Golbat sprayed it with toxic studge from its mouth. The ball pokemon turned a shade of purple before screeching in pain.

Paul snarled. 'Electrode rollout now.' Miraculously, the ball pokemon seemed to hear him, immediately spinning back onto the field towards Golbat.

'Golbat dodge it!' The bat pokemon beat its wings hard twice dodging the attack as Electrode rolled underneath it. 'Golbat now use air slash!' Spinning around, the bat pokemon crossed its wings across it's body, before flinging them back out, sending two waves of blue energy at Electrode as it rolled away. The attack blew Electrode into the other side of the arena, the ball pokemon hit the wall, then rolled back on the arena, a dazed expression on it's face, before screeching as the toxic took affect again.

Paul gritted his teeth, then came to a decision. The was only one thing he could do now, Electrode wouldn't stand up to another attack. _Now if only Golbat would get in closer..._

Noland smirked, he'd got this one won, Golbat had outmaneuvered Electrode from the start of the match. 'Golbat finish it with with one last wing attack!'

A small grin appeared on Paul's face, unseen by the frontier brain. _Perfect._

Golbat went into a vertical dive, before spreading it's wings a foot before the ground, gliding towards Electrode at high speed, it's wings glowing white. As it came within the final few meters of Electrode, the bat pokemon screeched loudly in victory.

'Electrode explosion,' Paul said calmly.

Scott, Sergio and Noland gasped.

Electrode glowed bright white. Golbat's screech turned from one of jubilation into one of panic as it frantically tried to change course, but it was too late as the force of the explosion shook the entire factory, sending the bat pokemon crashing into the opposite wall. 'Golbat no!' Noland shouted, it was too late, Golbat slid to the ground unconscious. Across the other side in the center of a large crater, Electrode lay motionless, it's eyes replaced by spirals.

Sergio was the first to recover. 'Both Electrode and Golbat are unable to battle. This round is a draw,' he shouted, crossing the flags over his head.

Noland stared in disbelief a moment longer, then forced a smile and recalled his pokemon. Across the other side of the arena, Paul did the same, then pulled a fresh pokeball from his pocket.

* * *

_My my. That Paul sure is one unique trainer. Just like with Tucker, he knew when to cut his losses and claim the draw, when some trainers would have still gone for the win and gained nothing. Trainers like Ash for instance, _Scott couldn't help thinking, as he watched the match from the side of the arena.

* * *

'Well Paul, you certainly took me by surprise with that last move.' Noland called out, holding a second pokeball. 'But lets see how well you do this time. Go pokeball,' he finished throwing it out onto the field. Paul mirrored him, throwing his own.

Once again flashes of white appeared on both sides of the arena. On Noland's side the light grew into a human shape with too many arms. Machamp flexed its muscles eager to fight, staring menacingly at it's newly appeared opponent. Paul stared in disbelief. _You've got to be joking, a Gloom?_

'Hey Machamp, Gloom, hows it going! Hey Paul watch out for that Gloom, it's a handful, I was battling with it myself a few weeks ago.'

'Great, yeah thanks a lot,' Paul muttered under his breath.

'As challenger, Paul has the first move. Now let the second round begin!' Sergio shouted.

'Gloom use petal dance now!' Multiple petals flew out of the grass types flower towards the fighting type.

'Machamp lets beat it to the punch. Mach punch go!'

In a blur, Machamp crossed the arena in a single bound, slamming a fist into Gloom and successfully dodging the petal dance attack. 'Now follow through with Drain punch!' One of Machamp's free hands glowed green as it twisted round to deliver another strike sending Gloom flying into the arena wall below Paul.

'No way! Gloom take back that energy with giga drain!' Paul yelled. Gloom gave itself a little shake, then concentrated on Machamp, drawing droplets of green energy from the fighting type's skin into it's flower. Machamp grunted in pain, dropping to one knee as the weed pokemon stood taller, it's eyes glaring. 'Now Gloom hit it with sleep powder!'

'Machamp back away. Keep a distance,' Noland ordered. The superpower pokemon leapt backwards, breaking off the giga drain and moving out of the sleep powder's way. Paul watched it go with satisfaction. _Machamps powerful alright, but like all fighting types almost all it's attacks are physical. So long as we keep it at a distance, there no way we can lose... _'Gloom petal dance again!' More petals flew towards Machamp.

'Machamp wide guard!' The fighting type moved it's four arms in a blur, knocking every petal away.

The two pokemon stared each other down for a moment, both trainer considering their next move. The whole arena seemed to hold it's breath, until suddenly both trainers spoke, acting at once.

'Gloom petal dance!'

'Slide in with low kick now!'

Gloom unleashed dozens of petals at Machamp once again, but every one passed over it's head harmlessly as the superpower pokemon sprinted forward, then dropped down, feet first and slammed one foot into Gloom's underbelly. The grass type was helplessly tossed in the air. 'Now finish it with vital throw!' Noland shouted, throwing his own arms down in excitement. Machamp leapt into the air after Gloom, then catching it with it's four hands, span round once and threw it into the arena floor.

'Champ.' The fighting pokemon spoke as it landed perfectly, bending it's knees and adopting it's fighting stance once more. To its front Gloom stirred weakly, trying to crawl out of the small hole the impact had made. 'Gloooomm...'

'Come on Gloom. Get up!' Paul demanded. The grass type looked up at it's temporary trainer, then sank back down, it's eyes re-placed by spirals.

'Gloom is un-able to battle! Machamp is the winner!' Sergio shouted.

'Alright Machamp, your a true champion buddy!' Noland called out to his pokemon, Machamp flexed it's muscles, posing. Paul stared down at the defeated grass type before recalling it without a word, his teeth bared. 'So Paul let's see what fate has given you for your last pokemon!' The Factory Head called out. Below, the superpower pokemon beckoned with all four hands, flashing a grin at Paul.

With a resigned expression, Paul pulled out his last pokeball. The odds on whatever being inside overcoming Machamp and whatever Noland had as his last pokemon where pretty long. Paul stared at the capsule in his hand before throwing it out into the field.

_Sure hope your an Entei..._

* * *

**Any idea what it could be? You can probably guess. I'll give you a hint, it's not Entei...or Mewtwo. Feel free to review if you want! **


	8. Chapter 8

**Paul versus Noland part two. Enjoy!**

Paul stared as a bright white light filled his side of the arena for the third time. It wasn't an Entei, but the purple haired trainer was still surpirsed at what chance had given him as his last pokemon. Across the arena, the Factory Head Noland also stared at Paul's side of the arena with surprise, before turning to look at the referee Sergio.

'I thought we removed Charmeleon from the battle lineup, due to it's little problem...' Noland muttered, not loud enough for Paul to hear on the other side of the battlefield. Sergio sweatdropped, then rubbed the back of his head sheeplishly.

'Oh yeah, I kinda forgot.'

Noland returned his gaze to the fire type, who had crossed it's arms and was looking with contempt at Machamp. It's little problem was, ever since it evolved, Chameleon had generally refused to obey any commands given by challenging trainers. The Factory Head returned his gaze to Paul, preparing to apologize. _Oh man this is going to be embarrassing... _His thoughts were cut short as his challenger suddenly started shouting.

'Flamethrower attack now!' Paul yelled out.

Charmeleon seemed to think about it for a moment, before, arms still crossed, it opened it's mouth and fired a powerful jet of fire at Machamp. The superpower pokemon cried out in pain as the flamethrower hit it directly in the center of it's chest, blowing it off it's feet.

Noland gritted his teeth annoyance by the surprise attack. _Alright, if that's the way you want to play it... _'Machamp let's go, Mach punch.'

Again the fighting type leapt across the field, one of it's fist raised. Charmeleon cried out in shock as the blow landed dead center of it's chest, sending it rolling backwards, head over heels.

'Charmeleon, fly back with headbutt,' Paul ordered immediately. Charmeleon however, jumped to it's feet where it was. Eyes flashing in outrage, it sent forward another flamethrower, more powerful than the last at Machamp.

'Machamp jump over that. Come down with a high jump kick!'

'Charmeleon meet it with slash!' Paul shouted.

To his frustration, Charmeleon simply fired a third flamethrower at the superpower pokemon. Using the natural agility of a fighter, Machamp leaned to one side in mid-air letting the flamethrower pass by, before planting a powerful kick onto the top of Charmeleon's head. The fire type flew back again, this time impacting into the wall below Paul. The trainer let out an angry growl. Was Charmeleon disobeying him on purpose?

'Fine! Use flamethrower now if you want to!' The purple haired trainer exclaimed angrily.

'Machamp, grab it!'

Charmeleon looked up from the floor where it had landed with watery eyes, opening it's mouth to deliver all it's fury in a last fire attack. To it's shock however, Machamp stood right over it, leering down, reaching for it with all four arms. The fire type yelped in surprise as one pair of arms clamped down on it's jaw, while the other pair enveloped it in a crushing bear hug.

* * *

Noland watched in satisfaction. Now that it's jaw was closed, Charmeleon couldn't use any fire attacks. It was time to finish it.

'Machamp now submission!'

The fire type howled in pain, struggling with all it's might as Machamp tightened it's hold, crushing it with it's all powerful arms. Paul looked on with with bared teeth, there was nothing Charmeleon could do, the fire type was twisting this way and that, trying to escape as Machamp crushed the life out of it, it's tail sending embers into the air as it thrashed around.

_Wait, that's it!_

'Charmeleon stop struggling!' Charmeleon ignored the purple haired trainer and continued to fight helplessly. 'Charmeleon, listen to me if you want to survive, I can get you out of there!' Paul roared, furious. 'Now, put your tail in Machamp's face now!'

Charmeleon's eyes widened, then twisted round and thrust it's flaming tail straight at the fighting type's head. The superpower pokemon howled in agony, dropping the fire pokemon at it's feet as it stumbled away, shaking it's head.

'Headbutt!' Paul yelled, gesturing forward with one hand.

From the ground, Charmeleon shot forwards like a rocket, the horn on it's head impacting hard onto Machamp's stomach. The fighting type's cries of pain ceased as all the air in it's body forcefully flew out of it's mouth.

'Now double slash, back to back!'

Charmeleon did a little bounce, it's jaws level with Machamp's face, then with claws glowing white, delivered two viscous attacks with quick succession. The fighting type stumbled back again, all four hands now holding it's face.

'Now finish with flamethrower!'

Landing back on the ground, finally the fire type opened its jaws and sent it's most powerful fire attack at the superpower pokemon, blowing it into the air. The Factory Head stared on in shock as Machamp handed hard on the ground, eyes turning into spirals.

* * *

'Er...wow...I mean,' Sergio quickly corrected himself from the side of the arena. 'Machamp is unable to battle, Charmeleon is the winner!'

Paul crossed his arms, staring at Noland with satisfaction on his face. Below, Charmeleon mirrored him, spiting a small breath of fire into the air in the fallen fighting type's direction. Noland stared at the two of his opponents with surprise. _Well I'll be, guess Charmeleons found someone he'l actually obey... _The Factory Head held up a pokeball and recalled Machamp, a smile growing on his face.

'Well Paul, you can certainly think on your feet, il give you that. But don't forget, I still have one pokemon left,' he reminded, pulling out his third capsule from his coat. 'And I have a feeling this one's a winner! Go pokeball!'

* * *

Paul and his borrowed pokemon stared at the falling pokeball as it flew out of it's owner's hand and fell to the arena floor. Paul balled his hands into fists as white light flashed.

_I don't care what you are, there's no way I'm losing now. _

Noland's pokemon appeared and landed with a crash in the center of the battlefield roaring. Noland let of a whoop of joy, 'I don't believe it, Venusaur am I glad to see you buddy!'

'SSAUUURRRR!'

'Whats the big deal?' Paul asked in spite of himself. Below the huge grass type was waving it's vines threateningly at Charmeleon, the fire type growling back.

'You don't get it, Venusaur was one of the very first pokemon I ever caught, right back when it was just a baby bulbasaur. We've been through a lot together haven't we buddy?' Venusaur grunted in reply. 'Venusaur even helped build the battlefield your stood in right now...'

Paul stared down at Venusaur with new calculating eyes. If that was true, then he was now facing one of Noland's most experienced pokemon. _They're no denying I have a type advantage... but even when I saw it before, I could tell it seemed strong. This could be tricky. _Determined not to become over confident, Paul prepared call out his first attack.

* * *

'Charmeleon, flamethrower!'

'Venusaur, leaf storm!'

Another jet of fire flew from Charmeleon's mouth, across the other side, a huge cyclone of razor sharp leaves erupted from the flower on Venusaur's back. The two attacks hit at the mid point between the two pokemon, countless cinders of burnt leaves fell to the ground. But there was just to many leaves to burn, Charmeleon snarled in pain as the grass attack started to cut away at it's side. Paul stared with wide eyes.

_We had the advantage...and it still overpowered flamethrower! _It was time to switch tactics.

'Charmeleon, jump out of the way!'

Breaking off it's fire attack, Charmeleon leapt into the air, dodging the remainder of the leaves.

Noland grinned. 'Venusaur grab it with your vines!'

'SSAUUR!'

A dozen vines flew out from underneath the flower on the grass types back, catching Charmeleon in mid air. Charmeleon howled as it found itself caught once again, before Venusaur flung it high into the air. Paul twisted round, watching his pokemon as it flew right past him and impacted into the arena wall above his head, fearing the worst. However to his surprise, the fire pokemon jumped back out of the hole it had made into the side of the arena, landing beside the purple haired trainer. Trainer and pokemon locked eyes for a moment before the latter gave a quick nod, before leaping back down to the battlefield below.

Paul watched it go, a half grin growing on his face. _Good._

* * *

'Haha not bad. Impressive work Charmeleon!' Noland called out. 'Venusaur grab it with vine whip again!'

'Charmeleon get in close now!'

The fire type ran forward, jumping left and right as the vines tried to catch him. Roaring in anger, Charmeleon leapt the final distance, slashing at Venusaur's face with a bright white claw.

'Now use flamethrower at close range!'

Standing in front of the huge grass type's face, Charmeleon fired a jet of flame, hitting it between the eyes. Venusaur roared in pain, too slow to dodge the super-effective attack. Noland shouted out in panic.

'No Venusaur, tackle it away!'

'Charmeleon jump and grab hold of Venusaur's flower!' The grass type lumbered forward, but Charmeleon jumped towards it, bouncing off the top of Venusaur's head and catching the giant flower on it's back. 'Now flamethrower again, straight down!'

'Venusaur, shake it off!' Noland cried out desperately. His pokemon rocked frantically, but Charmeleon held on for dear life, before shooting it's fire attack straight down, setting the entire flower on top of Venusaur alight.

'No Venusaur!' Noland shouted as his pokemon roared in again. 'Wait that's it, use stun spore!'

'Charmeleon back away from Venusaur now!' Paul yelled out quickly, realizing the danger. It was too late however, being in such close proximity to Venusaur's flower, the attack was impossible to dodge, Charmeleon seemed to freeze on top of the grass type's back. Noland breathed out in relief, smiling.

'Now use solarbeam!'

The flower began to draw in energy from the sunlight lancing it's way in from the open top roof of the arena.

* * *

Paul watched it with a sinking feeling, sensing the tide of the battle start to turn.

'Charmeleon get away from it now!'

'Charrrr.' Charmeleon seemed to shake, still frozen in place, it's eyes widening in fear as the flower inches from it's face suddenly turned bright white.

'Venusaur, release solarbeam!' Noland shouted in triumph. Light filled the arena, blinding both trainers as a powerful beam fired into the sky.

'CHARRR!'

The fire pokemon cried out in agony as it was blown off the grass type's back with incredible force, flung high into the air, almost out of the entire building. Paul watched, his stomach in knots, as it began to fall back down, hitting the arena floor with loud thud, sending up clouds of dust.

'Good work Venusaur,' the Factory Head praised his pokemon.

'SSSSAAAUUR!' The grass type roared in victory.

'Charmeleon is unable to battle, Venusaur is the winner, therefore the victory goes to...' Sergio broke of as flames suddenly erupted from Charmeleon's position.

* * *

_Oh man this is getting exciting _Scott thought, immediately realising what had occured.

* * *

Paul stared in shock as Charmeleon climbed to it's feet roaring, flames erupting from it's tail in all directions. _No way, is it possible...? _The fire type beat it's chest with it's claws, it's eyes feral, before roaring at Venusaur again. _Is that...? _An image of Charmeleon bursting into flames while fighting Drapion passed through this mind. _Is that Blaze? _

Noland stared at his fire type in equal surprise. He was, of course, aware of it's supposed ability. But Charmeleon had near used it in his company, whether as a charmander or otherwise.

_This is incredible! _

Noland couldn't help stopping for a moment and watching with awe as fire from the fire type's tail grew to almost reach their podiums. But Charmeleon was still very weak. If he was quick he could still end this in the next move.

* * *

'Venusaur end it quickly, leaf storm now!'

Again, a cyclone of leaves erupted from it's flower, travelling towards the fire type. Without waiting for a command, Charmeleon retaliated, sending a massive wave of fire back. The two attacks collided, but with opposite result as the flamethrower incinerated all the leaves this time with ease. The grass type roared in pain, backing away a few steps as the fire started to lick at it's body.

Paul snapped himself out of the trance he'd been in, overwhelmed by memories of a former fire type. He could win this!

'Charmeleon close in with Venusaur now!'

'No way, we're not falling into that one again. Venusaur stop it with your razor leaf!'

'Charmeleon stop! Jump onto the air now!'

'Catch it with vine whip!'

'Slash them away and land on it's back!'

'No! Solarbeam now Venusaur!'

'Fire blast it!'

The two attack met with a huge explosion, filling the air with smoke. Venusaur looked up searching for Charmeleon. Like a flaming meteor, Charmeleon fell out of the smoke head first, aiming for the giant grass type.

'Charmeleon, inferno now!' Paul roared. Coated in flame, the fire pokemon roared at it's enemy, before colliding into it's back, buckling Venusaur's thick legs.

A second final explosion filled the arena as both pokemon's roars echoed around the building. Noland jumped forward, leaning over the railing at the side of the platform, almost falling, desperate to see the result below.

* * *

Charmeleon opened it's eyes slowly. The arena was still on fire in some areas, the huge grass type lay in front, blackened, defeated. Charmeleon felt a small feeling of satisfaction, before stumbling backwards out of exhaustion, about to fall down.

A hand caught it before it fell.

Charmeleon looked up wearily at the purple haired trainer, a small smile curling at the corner of it's mouth. A moment later the trainer above gave it a small smile back. Not much, but a silent acknowledgement of it's efforts. Charmeleon relaxed, falling backwards into the other's embrace.

* * *

Noland jumped off the ladder built into his side of the sunken battlefield and ran forward through the smoke that still lingered in the air, towards a large shadow of a pokemon laid on the battlefield floor. A scorched flower pointed into the air coming out of back, the petals hanging limply. The Factory Head knelt down beside it, a smile on his face. 'Great work Venusaur, you were awesome as always,' he praised as he held up a pokeball.

'Saaaurr,' the grass type replied before turning back to red light.

Noland straightened up, then noticed with surprise his opponent had come to the arena floor as well. Paul knelt by the fire type, arms wrapped around it, half holding it up, the fire type resting in his embrace.

'Hey Paul that was an awesome battle. You and Charmeleon make quite a team.'

The purple haired boy jumped, noticing the frontier brain, then looked back down at the fire type. Quickly pulling out a pokeball, he withdrew Charmeleon back into it's capsule and stood back up.

'It was a good battle,' Paul acknowledged.

'Hey guys, whats going on down there!' A voice shouted down from above. 'I can't see a thing through this smoke!'

'Noland looked up and laughed. 'It's over, Paul won!' He shouted back. Faintly he could hear Scott cheering. 'Well Paul I guess this belongs to you.' He held out a golden badge.

'Thanks.' Paul took the badge and put it into his pocket, feeling several other hard objects as he did. Drawing them out he held the miniaturization pokeballs containing Electrode and Gloom in one hand, then with a moment of hesitation, added Chameleon's. 'Here,' he said simply giving them back to Noland. 'Take care of them,' he added, surprising himself.

'No problem. Now how about we get out of here huh?'

'Right.'

* * *

**Hope I did a good job here. Let me know if you think I'm going wrong. Cya later :)**


	9. Chapter 9

**So bit of a short chapter after a fierce battle. I might not be able to update for a day or two after this, but I promise to keep at it. Hope you like it and reviews are welcome :)**

'So Paul, congratulations on your latest win. You must be pretty happy to have two symbols already,' Reggie exclaimed through the video screen.

'I guess,' Paul replied.

'So have you decided where your going next?'

'I'm going back to Saffron, then to the Battle Arena. Though I think i'l take a different route to the one did coming here,' Paul answered, suppressing a wince as he remembered the storm in the mountains. He pulled a pokeball from his pocket. 'Reggie, I'm sending you Aggron, I want you to exchange it for Nidoking. Aggron needs to train, and I haven't got time to do it on the road. I need to get going now, I'l speak more later when I reach Cerulean.'

'Sure thing Paul, just send it over, I'l go get Nidoking. Later bro.'

The video screen went blank. Paul placed Aggron's capsule in the transporter, white lighting passed over it before being sucked into the machine. Paul sighed and took a seat at the other side of the room, waiting for it's replacement. Early morning light started to cut between the closed curtains of a nearby window. No one else was awake at the Battle Factory yet, if possible Paul hoped to set off before anyone noticed. He would have preferred not to stop the night at the facility at all, but by the time the battle had been over yesterday it was already late afternoon, far too late to reach any form of civilization before nightfall. And after a few rough nights in the rain, it had been nice to spend a night indoors.

A bright light flashed over by the transporter, Nidoking had arrived. Paul immediately stood back up and walked over, collecting it. It was time to get out of here. He had several miles north to cover before he reached Cerulean Cape. The decision seemed odd, considering Cerulean was actually to the south-west of his current location, but Paul calculated it would be faster to go by established roads this time, rather to try and head cross country. Placing the pokeball in his pocket, the pokemon trainer walked out of the room, then out of the Factory via a long corridor. The sun had already cleared the horizon, wild pidgey cried shrilly from nearby trees. _Time to get moving..._

'Hey my man. Bit of a early riser are you?'

Paul froze, halfway through his first step, then span around.

'Still the early spearow catches the weedle as they say. I'm not much of a morning person, but each to their own...' Scott continued flashing him a thumbs up.

_Figures._

'Yes. Well I was about to set off. I'l see you.' Paul again turned to leave.

'Hey Paul, don't you want to say goodbye to Noland and the others before you leave?'

Paul continued walking away, 'I wouldn't want to disturb them from their sleep I'm sure...'

'Hey Paul!' A fresh voice shouted out from behind him. Sighing and running a hand through his hair, Paul turned around again. Sergio, the Battle Factory apprentice was running towards him out of the sliding doors. 'Paul, I wanted to see you before you left. I didn't think you'd be leaving this early though! Lucky I get up in the mornings to feed all the pokemon.'

'Yes, well I am. Thank you for the hospitality, but I needed to get an early start.' Paul was starting to get annoyed. He had got so early to try and avoid all the goodbyes, now it seemed he was going to have to suffer through them anyway. 'I guess I'll see you then...' Paul turned away.'

'No Paul wait. I didn't just come out to say goodbye, I came to give you something.' Sergio walked forward and pressed a pokeball into Paul's hand.

'What...?'

'It's Charmeleon, I want you to have it. Or rather we want you to have it, it'l work better with you I think...'

'We?'

'That's right.'

Paul jumped a little and looked up from the pokeball, Noland the Factory Head was walking up behind Sergio, a smile on his face. 'Watching you and Charmeleon work together yesterday was inspiring. You're the first trainer it's obeyed since it evolved. I think the two of you will work well together.'

'But...'

'See Paul, the truth is, Charmeleon's got too strong to continue to live here anyway, it would be too unfair to match it against the other pokemon, the whole idea of the Battle Factory is pit equally trained pokemon against each other so a challenger's skill in battling is revealed. Besides, you already have a strong connection with that Charmeleon, you rescued it from the storm and because of it, Charmeleon trusted you enough to activate Blaze. I can admit with some regret, I never manged to achieve that...'

Paul stared at him dumbfounded. _A strong connection with a pokemon? _He never spoiled his pokemon, in fact hardly ever spoke a good word to them out of fear they would become soft. Many people had criticized him for not being more compassionate, but he was Noland praising him for it. _And me rescuing Charmeleon from the storm is a bit of a stretch considering I only brought it with me so I could catch it later... _Paul returned his gaze to the pokeball, deep in thought. _Can I really just accept a pokemon like this? Still the power of blaze, that's too much to pass up. And when it evolves... _Paul looked back up at the Factory Head and nodded slightly. 'Ok then I'l take it.'

The Factory Head smiled widely. 'Good, I know the two of you will work well together. Take care of it for me.'

Paul returned his gaze to his pokeball, a small smile on his face. 'Ok then, Charmeleon stand by...' He said, tossing the ball onto the grass in front of him. The ball bounced twice before breaking open...

...

'Er Paul? Charmeleon's right here...'

The Noland sweatdropped as the fire type walked out from behind him, flexing it's claws and snorting out a small puff of flame, looking at Paul. 'Sorry, I already released it, I guess I thought it would be a good idea for you to accept it in person...'

'Right,' Paul growled, face faintly red as he walked forward and picked the pokeball back up.

Charmeleon stared at Paul steadily as he walked back, the purple haired trainer staring straight back. Paul felt a little out of his depth. Usually catching a pokemon would mean a pitched chase, then a fierce battle. What was he supposed to do here? Ask Charmeleon if he wanted to join him willingly? It seemed absurd, but then having a pokemon that didn't take orders willingly was an even bigger waste. Paul blinked, then reminded very forcefully of another trainer, crouched down. 'So Charmeleon, would you er like join me on my team?' Paul said awkwardly, holding out the pokeball in front of him. Charmeleon stared back into his eyes, expression unreadable, then drew a breath. Paul fell backwards, expecting the worst, hand scrabbling for a Gastrodon's pokeball. With a snort, Charmeleon released a puff of smoke over him, then with a growl that sounded oddly like a laugh, lent forward and touched it's pokeball with it's snout. The fire pokemon immediately disappeared inside, red light enveloping it's body.

'Excellent! It seems Charmeleon agrees. I think it likes you a lot,' Noland stated, smiling down at the trainer coughing in the smoke.

_Yeah. Great..._

Paul stood back up staring at the pokeball in his hand, then looked up. 'Well as I said, I need to get going...'

'Right. Good luck Paul and good luck with Charmeleon,' Noland replied, holding out a hand. 'I know you'l do well.'

Paul returned the handshake then, nodding at Sergio and Scott, finally turned away to set off.

'Seeya later Paul my boy!' Scott called after him. Paul kept walking, tearing his gaze away from his new pokeball and staring into the horizon. Well, he hadn't set off quite as early as he wanted, but maybe some things were worth being held up for, he thought as he returned his gaze to the pokeball. _At least it better be worth it... _After all this time spent, he wouldn't reach Cerulean until after nightfall. Paul suddenly flinched as the pokeball in his hand vanished, his grip now holding empty air. _What the...? Wait, I already have six pokemon with me though... _Paul groaned, comprehension dawning.

_Great._

Running a hand through his hair in exasperation, Paul wearily turned around, heading back to the Battle Factory.

This was going to be a long day...


	10. Chapter 10

**So chapter 10 begins. A little sooner than I said, luckily I found a bit of free time this morning. So Paul is on his way to his third facility... enjoy :)**

The large bush shook once, then twice more before a young man with purple hair burst out, stumbling forward onto the road in front of him. _Finally..._Paul thought as he recognized the road and the surrounding area as the northern part of the Cerulean Cape. Now the journey ahead would be relativity simple, abet a sizable amount longer than the previous bit. Paul turned left down the road, walking with his hands in his pockets, taking in the sights and sounds of the countryside.

A large river ran to his left, the same one he'd crossed soon after leaving the Battle Factory. Another decision that might be considered strange, since he'd eventually have to cross back over it, via Nugget Bridge at the far end of the Cape, but as Paul had quickly discovered, both sides of the river were covered in large, razor sharp thorn bushes, making it almost impossible to walk along it's bank. And besides, now he was on a proper road, he had a chance to make up for lost time. Paul lengthened his stride, picking up speed.

* * *

Finally, later that afternoon, Paul turned a final corner and saw the beginning of large bridge, stretching out over the large gap of water. The purple haired trainer's eyes narrowed as he saw the bridge was packed with people, pokemon jumping all around. It was nothing new, Nugget bridge had always been a popular place for aspiring pokemon trainers. The place had a big reputation for battling, Paul himself had already been challenged twice that day already. He had ignored both requests, he didn't have time to waste beating up some kids rattata or caterpie. The bridge wasn't the only place with people gathered around though, he thought as he strode towards it. Many young couples lay around the river bank, families sat around having picnics, their children playing in the water. Paul walked the final stretch of road and climbed up the steps onto the wide, low bridge that would take him over the water.

'Hey you! Are you a pokemon trainer? I challenge you to a battle!'

Paul glanced to his right, a young boy, dressed in a t-shirt, shorts and cap, stood pointing a finger at him. A pidgey sat on his shoulder flapping it's wings, trying to look intimidating. Paul held up a hand, silencing the young trainer, then kept walking forward. _Maybe I should bring out Nidoking or Drapion to walk with me to make them realize what they would be up against, that would at least stop them pestering me every five minutes. No, that would make the majority even more keen to battle... _Paul realized sighing. Instead he looked across the expanse of water to the right as he walked. The river grew narrower as it disappeared into the distance, faintly at the edge of vision, Mt Moon appeared as a small bump on the horizon. Water pokemon swam around in the water below, goldeen and remoraid leaping in and out of the river as they headed upstream. Clusters of tentacool clustered together at the far end of the bridge captured the purple haired trainer's attention. Usually tentacool never ventured this far inward. Paul's curiosity turned to surprise as a large tentacruel suddenly emerged from the center of the group, waving it's tentacles in all directions.

The bridge erupted into excited cries as everyone started shouting, excited. Paul watched as dozens of trainers rushed past him to the far side of the bridge, one thought clearly on all their minds. Paul watched them go, puzzled. Usually, you had to travel far out to sea to find tentacruel and even then they were fairly rare, in fact the only time Paul had ever seen a wild one was when he had traveled round Sootopolisis and Mossdeep city islands over in Hoenn. A huge crowd had gathered on the far bank, trainers sending out all kinds of pokemon, each one contenting for the immediate bragging rights that would come with catching such a big pokemon. Paul considered, he didn't have many powerful water types, Gastrodon being the main example. Maybe this tentacruel would be useful. _And it's not like anyone is going to beat me to it... _Paul thought as he walked to the far end of the bridge, watching several rattata and caterpie being helplessly knocked aside by the tentacruel's large tentacles. Some trainers were resorting to simply throwing pokeball after pokeball at the large creature, each one being blown back by bubble attacks from the surrounding tentacool.

'Electivire, standby for battle!'

'Woah!'

'Look at that!'

'That guys got an Electabuzz!'

'That's not an Electabuzz stupid, it's a Zapdos!'

'Don't Zapdos have wings?'

Excited cries came from the crowded bank as Paul released his yellow electric pokemon. His pokemon gave a battle cry as it landed on the bridge by the railing. 'Now use thunder!' Electivire surrounded itself with electricity, before thrusting it's arms forward, sending the powerful attack at the large water type. The tentacruel cried out in pain, the surrounding tentacool knocked out immediately by some of the stray voltage. Paul watched with a careful eye as the electric attack did it's damage. _That should do it..._

'Now pokeball, get it.'

The red and white capsule flew off the bridge with perfect aim, hitting the tentacruel on the top of the head, breaking open before sucking the water type in. 'Grab it Electivire!'

The electric pokemon leaned as far as it could over the edge then, with one of it's long black tails, reached forward and caught the pokeball before it fell back in the water. Electivire carefully lowered it back onto the bridge, the purple haired trainer and his pokemon watched as the red and white capsule rocked on the wooden decking. With a resounding chime, the pokeball stopped moving, the pokemon inside successfully captured. Paul picked it up with satisfaction, recalling Electivire while reaching for his pokedex with his other hand, intending to scan the pokemon before it automatically got transported back to Reggie in Sinnoh.

'Hey! What do you think you're doing!'

Paul looked up from his pokedex as he heard the angry voice cry out. Turning he saw a teenage girl marching up to him, climbing the steps onto the bridge. The girl was dressed yellow shirt and wore tight yellow cycling shorts, a small red bag hanging from one shoulder. Bright ginger hair covered her head, tied to one side in a ponytail. 'Don't you know you're not allowed to capture pokemon in the river!' She shouted, fists clenched by her side.

Paul looked at her, slightly amused at her outrage. 'Well, you're too late because I already have.'

'But, it's forbidden!'

'Well that's tough,' Paul replied. _Although it might have been a waste of time _he thought looking down at his pokedex. The only water attack this tentacruel knew was bubblebeam. The other attacks were constrict and wrap, hardly very powerful. Paul sighed, prepared to release it back into the water. 'You know, you should be grateful, this is a popular place, you don't want ugly pokemon like Tentacruel wandering around.'

The girl's mouth fell open in shock, then bared her teeth as steam started to rise out her ears. 'I think Tentacruel is the most beautiful pokemon I've ever seen!' She replied, yelling.

_Beautiful__? Riggghhhht. _'Well that's your opinion. Now I have to get going, excuse me.'

The ginger haired girl immediately spread her arms out wide, eyes flashing dangerously. 'No way. I'm not letting off this bridge until you apologize for what you said about tentacruel!'

The pokeball suddenly disappeared in Paul's grip, teleported away. The purple haired trainer sighed. 'I'm in a rush, unlike some people, I have important things to do with my day...'

'And whats that supposed to mean!' The girl screamed back, her face growing bright red.

'It's means I can't spend all day here arguing with you. Now let me past!'

'Not yet. Not until I teach you some manners kid!' The teenage girl pulled a pokeball out from her bag. 'How about a pokemon battle!'

Paul stared at her, annoyed. It was clear she wasn't going to leave him alone until he gave her what she wanted. 'Fine. But it'l be a one on one battle, as I said, I haven't got all day.'

'That's fine by me! I only need one pokemon to kick your butt kid! Go Staryu!'

A brown, star shaped pokemon with a pink pearl in it's center appeared in a flash of light. Paul considered briefly before pulling out his own choice. _At least this could be some useful training for the newest member of my team. Alright Charmeleon you've shown me what you can do when you have a type advantage, let's see how well you do at a disadvantage... _Paul didn't have his hopes up for any sort of a reasonable battle though, his girl was going to get a shock when she realized who she had challenged. 'Now Charmeleon, standby for battle!'

The fire pokemon appeared on the bridge in front of Paul, flexing it's claws and snorting a small puff of flame in Staryu's direction. The ginger girl let out a laugh. 'Ha, a Charmeleon? Don't you know water puts out fires kid? Or hasn't your mummy taught you that yet?'

Paul gave no reply, she'd see her mistake soon enough. The girl seemed a little put off by his silence. 'Er right let's go then! Staryu! Use water gun!'

'Flamethrower go!' Paul replied, gesturing forward. His pokemon drew a large breath, then fired a powerful jet of fire from it's mouth, the star shaped pokemon sending a line of water forward from it's highest point. The two attacks hit in the center, sending up clouds of steam. Charmeleon immediately doubled it's efforts, the flamethrower pushed back the water gun and the water pokemon was sent flying backwards as flames hit it in it's center pearl.

'No Staryu!' The ginger girl exclaimed, panicked.

'Don't you know fire evaporates water?' Paul asked, a smirk on his face. Charmeleon crossed it's arms and released a small puff of smoke out of it's nostrils. The girl's hair looked ready to burst into flames as she glared back at him.

'You think you're funny kid! We'l show you, Staryu use water pulse!' The water pokemon jumped forward again, a sphere of water forming in the center of it's pearl, before fireing it out at Charmeleon at high speed.

_That's fast... _Paul thought surprised at how quickly Staryu had recovered. 'Charmeleon dodge, then use fire spin.'

The fire type leapt to one side just in time, skidding to a halt at the far left hand side of the bridge, before sending more flames at Staryu. This time the flames surrounded the water type, trapping it in place. Paul smiled in triumph. _Now to finish it off. _'Charmeleon use...'

'Staryu, rapid spin!'

Shaken out of his plans, Paul watched in shock as the star shaped pokemon suddenly span round rapidly, the air currents created dispersing the fire spin. The water pokemon then flew straight for Charmeleon, almost too fast to see. Charmeleon snarled out in pain as it was thrown backwards.

'Yey Staryu great work!' The ginger girl cheered, leaping in the air. Paul frowned as he looked back at Charmeleon pick itself up. This girl was proving to be more trouble than he thought. It was time to get serious. 'Charmeleon close in with Staryu now! Use slash!'

'Water pulse Staryu!'

'Dodge, then use fire spin.'

'Rapid spin again Staryu!' It's trainer shouted. 'Now go get it!' she shouted pointing towards the fire type.

'Charmeleon, catch it!'

The fire type held it's claws out, ready for the water time this time. The ginger girl cried out in shock as Charmeleon dug it's claws into Staryu, stopping the rapid spin and holding it in place. 'Now flamethrower,' Paul commanded, crossing his arms in finality. Charmeleon smirked at Staryu, then sent it's most powerful flames forward at point blank range, engulfing the water type completely.

'Staryu!' The girl cried out again. Charmeleon stopped it's fire attack, then taking one look at the charred star shaped pokemon in it's claws, tossed it to one side. Staryu slid away, the pearl in the center of it's body flashing.

'Staryu return.' The girl called her pokemon back to it's pokeball before sinking to her knees, holding it in both hands. 'I'm so sorry Staryu, I should have known that was a trick. I'l do better next time...'

The purple haired trainer recalled Charmeleon without a word. Placing the pokeball back on his belt, Paul walked past the ginger girl in silence, stepping down off the bridge. The crowd of spectators that had gathered to watch the battle, parted to form a gap as he walked through ignoring all the staring eyes. A large archway stood in front of him, signalling the beginning of Ceruleun city. With feeling of relief, Paul passed through.

* * *

The sun disappeared below the horizon as he walked through the sliding doors of the pokemon center. Nurse Joy, looking the same as ever, looked up from the computer screen where she sat behind the desk. 'Hello, welcome to the Cerulean pokemon center. How can I help you?'

'Hello. I have pokemon here I'd like to admit. I will be leaving again tomorrow morning, is that ok?'

'That's fine, just put your pokeballs in a tray over there,' she replied, pointing to a stack of trays further down the counter. 'Rooms for trainers are down the hall, you're in luck, the centers relatively empty at the moment.'

'Thank you.'

Depositing his six pokeballs, Paul wearily made his way over to the video phones by the side of the room and sat down, typing in a familiar number. After a brief wait, Reggie's face appeared on the screen in front of him, a staraptor stood next to him.

'Hey Paul. Any trouble on the road?'

'Nothing I couldn't handle. You receive Tentacruel?'

'Yeah, I was pretty surprised. It's out back at the moment, it seems to get on well with Swalot, those two are friends already, who'd would have guessed eh?'

'I need you to send it back, I'm going to need it,' Paul lied. It's wasn't as if he was ashamed of releasing a pokemon he wasn't going to use, but Reggie always gave him a lecture on how he should train all pokemon equally to their full potential whenever the idea was brought up.

'No problem. What are you sending back?' Reggie asked.

'Nothing at the moment. The others are in the center, I'l send one back later.'

'Oh ok. So.' Reggie paused looking closely at his brother. 'How are you doing Paul? Still feeling confident? I know your last few battles were tough...'

'It's has been challenging,' Paul admitted. 'But it doesn't make a difference, I'm going on to the Battle Arena then once I've won, then it's on to the next one and the next until I face Brandon.' Paul paused, unintentionally clenching his fists. 'Then I'm going to beat him. That's all there is to it.'

'I know you're determined Paul, but be careful not to burn yourself out. Your trying to rush between these facilities with no time to rest yourself or your pokemon properly. Brandon will still be there, no matter how long it takes,' Reggie reminded.

Through the screen, Paul looked like he was about to argue, then breathed out in a long sigh. 'I'll bear that in mind.'

'Good. Now I have to go out to feed the pokemon. I'll send Tentacruel when I get back. Take care Paul.'

'See you.'

The video screen turned blank. There was more truth to Reggie's words than he cared to admit, he thought as he wearily put his head in his hands, waiting for the transferal. He hadn't got a good nights sleep in about a week now. More than that, he felt run down, as if he had caught something, no doubt a result of the night stuck on the mountains. _Maybe I should slow down a little._ In truth, he could never remember travelling so fast with such determination before, he certainly hadn't in the Sinnoh when collecting the gym badges._ But that was before I lost... _That's the reason, he thought. Ever since his loss in the quarter-finals, he felt as if something was slipping away, as if he didn't act now, he would miss his chance and fade away, forgotten. Paul snapped his head up, breaking the chain of thought, annoyed with himself. He thought he had left his doubts behind him when he defeated Tucker, but clearly something still lingered. He was going to have to keep an eye on them. _I'm just tired that's all_, Paul thought, clearing his mind with an effort.

The doors behind him swung open again and sounds of footsteps could be heard running up to the main desk.

'Nurse Joy, Nurse Joy. Please help my Staryu, it's been burnt pretty badly.'

'Hello there, I'm surprised to see you here so late Misty! Having a bit of late training were we? Well no problem, I'll take a look at it right now.'

Paul turned around, recognizing the voice. Over by the counter was the girl from earlier, handing a pokeball over to the nurse. Nurse Joy held it up to a scanner and studied the computer screen intently before smiling. 'Your Staryu's going to be fine, don't worry. There are a few minor burns, but a little rest and it will be fine. Chansey!' Joy called out. A large pink pokemon ran out of a side door behind the counter, a egg held in it's pouch on it's stomach and a warm smile on it's face.

'Chansey!' It cried before picking up the pokeball and running back out of the room.

'Thank you. Please take good care of it,' Misty replied.

The orange haired girl turned around and made to walk out of the center, glancing briefly at the boy sat in a chair by the video phones.

Paul winced.

'YOU!' Misty yelled, going from calm to furious in less than a second. 'I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my Staryu!' Advancing on the purple haired trainer, Misty drew a inexplicably long mallet from her small backpack and held it over her head, ready to strike...

* * *

**Hope you liked this chapter. I couldn't have Paul walk through Cerulean without running into everyone's favorite gym leader haha. Please review and let me know what you think.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey there everyone. So here we are, Chapter 11. Brace yourselves lol.**

At the flash of the business end of a large wooden hammer, Paul threw himself sideways as the mallet came crashing down on the stool he'd been sat on only a moment ago, reducing it to firewood. The purple haired trainer looked up in panic as Misty raised her weapon high again, preparing to take another swing.

'Wait! Stop! Stop!'

I'm gonna teach you a lesson you won't forget, Mr Smarty Pants!' Misty roared as she prepared to unleash her fury.

A flash appeared by the transporter, distracting them both briefly, Tentacruel had arrived.

Paul took advantage of the brief let up and leapt forward, tackling the girl to the floor, intending to pin her down. However to his surprise, his ginger haired assailant rolled with him, flipping him over her head. Paul landed with a crash at the other side of the room, sending chairs and plant pots flying.

'What are you doing in my center! Stop please, Miss Waterflower!' Nurse joy cried out, cowering behind the counter. Paul scrambled to his feet, a hand reaching for a pokeball. _Oh yeah I deposited them already. _Paul looked up just in time to see Misty take another swing, aiming at his head.

A flash of white light, then everything went dark.

* * *

Paul opened his eyes slowly. His head felt like it was about to split into two. Groaning, he tried to sit up, then flopped back down as a wave of nausea washed over him. Instead, he turned his head slowly to one side trying to figure out where he was. A window lay in the wall in front of him, Paul was startled to see bright sunlight pouring through. _What time is it? _He had clearly been unconscious through the the night and most of the next day by the look of it. _How much time have I wasted laid here! _Paul shot bolt upright and tried to jump out of the bed, when suddenly the room started spinning, his head throbbing worse than ever. Groaning, the purple haired trainer laid back down, pulling the covers back over his head, hiding from the pain in the darkness.

'Oh good you're awake, I was wondering when you would get up, it's almost like, two thirty! How are you feeling?' Paul slowly pulled back the covers, peeking out. A tall attractive women stood in front of him, golden hair falling to near her waist. 'Well are you like, going to stay in that bed all day? Nurse Joy needs to do her chores,' the girl said looking annoyed, hands on her hips.

'Whoer you?' Paul mumbled, still half hidden in the covers.

The women brightened at the new question. 'Well, like, of course, we haven't introduced ourselves! My names Daisy, I'm one of the sensational sisters of course!' Daisy clasped her hands together by her head, eyes sparkling.

'You're the what sister?' Paul groaned.

The look of happiness froze, then Daisy scowled at the young man in bed in front of her. 'Sen-sa-tion-al sister, man whats like, wrong with you?'

'Never heard of them.'

'What do you mean you've never heard of us, we're like, only world famous! Did you grow up in a like, a cave or something!' The women exclaimed, her annoyed face somehow making her looking a lot less attractive.

'Look ok, I'm sorry!' Paul half groaned, half shouted. 'Just leave me alone please...'

'Alright then Mr Grumpy, there's no need to be like, so serious, I'm only joking! I only came to see if you were like, ok! I told Misty she should come see you, but she was like Tentacruel this and Staryu that, I couldn't make sense of like, any of it.'

'Wait.' With a supreme effort of will, Paul pushed himself upright, trying to ignore the pounding it his head. 'Did you say...Misty?'

'Well like, yeah. She's my little sister!'

The pair were interrupted as Nurse Joy came bustling into the room a worried smile on her face. 'Oh good, I'm relieved to see you awake. Thats quite a bump on your head! I put your tentacruel by your bed by the way,' she added pointing to the pokeball. 'All your other pokemon are still here when you feel well enough to collect them...'

'Thanks...' Paul replied in a daze. Bracing himself, he swung his legs out of the bed, then slowly stood up. Another wave of nausea washed over him, Paul staggered a little, putting a hand against the wall for support.

Nurse Joy watched him with concern. 'Oh my, you're really are unwell arn't you? Miss Waterflower has such a fierce temper. You should get back in bed...'

'It's fine,' Paul replied grimly, holding up a hand to stop her as she walked forward to help him, then picking up the pokeball by his bed and putting it back in his pocket. Daisy immediately brightened.

'Well like, course he is! He beat Misty! He's like, super strong! Hey I know!' She exclaimed. 'Why don't you come round to the gym! You can come see Misty again, I'm sure she wants to apologize. And that way, you won't be like, taking up anymore of Nurse Joy's time!' Daisy finished, beaming at her own brilliance. Leaning forward, the sensational sister immediately grabbed hold of the purple haired trainer's arm and proceed to drag him out of the room, then down the hallway to the entrance, Nurse Joy looking bemused as Paul cried out frantically, trying to grab at the bed, the door, anything to stop.

'No, it's fine, I really don't want...!'

'Don't worry about it!' Daisy exclaimed, misreading him completely . 'It's like, the least we can do after Misty hit you like that!' The sensational sister frog marched him out of the center, Chansey watched them go with a happy smile.

'No, but...arrrgh,' Paul groaned again as bright sunlight blinded his face.

'You know, you shouldn't be like, so negative!' Daisy scolded as he marched him down the street, his arm held in a vice-grip. The buildings passed by them in a blur, each melding into the next until a large door appeared in front of them. With a wide smile, Daisy threw it open and marched in, dragging the young pokemon trainer inside and slamming it behind them.

* * *

'Soooo,' she said, sitting him down by a wooden table in the kitchen. 'Make yourself at home! Would like, do you want a drink?'

'Water would be good.' Paul mumbled, head in his hands, leaning on the table. Daisy stared at him impatiently, before filling a glass at the sink and slamming it down on the table beside him.

'You know, like you're acting really like, ungrateful!' Daisy exclaimed, putting force into the last word. 'You know, like, I didn't have to invite you in, you know!'

_I didn't even want to come in the first place! _Paul lifted his head, ready to reply angrily, when another girl entered the room carrying a towel, drying her bright orange hair.

'Hey Daisy, do we have any more sour poffins left? Dewgong's pretty hungry after that last battle.' Misty glanced across the room, noticing the purple haired trainer.

'YOU!'

'Please tell me you don't have that mallet...' Paul mumbled, putting his head back in his hands.

'Hey Misty like, chill out!' Daisy exclaimed.

'I can't believe you brought him here!'

'Well like, blame yourself, you were the one that hit him!' Daisy screamed back.

'He hurt my Staryu!' Misty shouted in return, her face close to boiling point.

_Please, shut up! _Paul groaned quietly, holding his aching head. The two sisters broke off and stared at him.'

'See Misty, he's like, really hurt!'

'Well, he did hurt my...' Misty started to reply.

'So your gonna like, hit all the challengers that come here as well? It was a battle Misty, pokemon always get hurt,' Daisy finished triumphantly, confident she had won the argument.

Misty stared at Paul for a long moment before mumbling quietly, 'Well I guess I didn't have to hit him that hard...'

'Thank you! Now apologize to him!'

Misty muttered something under her breath.

Daisy tutted. 'I didn't hear that.'

'It's fine!' Paul uninterrupted. 'I really don't care! I just want to get out of here.' Daisy jumped, looking back at the purple haired boy at the table.

'Well that's like, not very nice. Misty was only trying to apologize to you. You should be grateful that she even bothers, you know after you like, hurt her Staryu!'

'Hey, wait a minute!' The orange girl exclaimed, looking back at her sister.

* * *

Paul gritted his teeth as the two sisters began to bicker again. However even through his befuddled state, something became to click in his mind. _Challenger? Battle? Gym?_

'Hey wait! Are you the gym leaders of Cerulean Gym?'

The two sisters broke off, looking at him. 'Well yes I am,' the orange haired one replied.

Paul stared at her. 'You're the gym leader?'

'Um yeah,' Misty replied uncertainly.

Paul paused a moment. 'Bit weak for a gym leader aren't you?'

Misty stared at him, face glowing bright red again. 'Why you little...' Daisy jumped forward, grabbing her little sister as she launched herself at Paul again.

'Don't you like, ever learn your lesson?' Daisy shouted at Paul, bear-hugging Misty from behind.

'I'm only saying it as I see it...'

'Hey, come into the arena, let's have another battle, I'l show you just how strong I am!' Misty screamed, fighting to escape her sister's grip.

Paul let out a little laugh. 'I'd be glad to wipe the floor with you again. However, I only have one pokemon with me, the tentacruel you saw me catch yesterday. And I'm not battling with that, it's far too weak.'

Misty shook off her sister's arms and stared at Paul, her voice now cold. 'Then why don't you let me battle with Tentacruel? I'l crush you and what ever pokemon you choose and prove how great tentacruel are, all in one battle!'

Paul looked up at her with disbelief. 'Fine then, I guess I've wasted so much time here because of you, I can waste a little more.'

'Great! Il meet you in the arena.' With that Misty stormed out of the room.

Daisy looked after her uncertainly, then looked back at Paul. 'Well I hope your like, happy now!' There's a pokemon teleporter in the back.' With that Daisy turned and followed her sister. Paul watched her go in silence, then stood up, the pain in his head finally starting to fade.

* * *

'This will be a one on one pokemon battle between gym leader Misty Waterflower and the challenger Paul,' Daisy shouted from the sidelines. 'The battle will be over like, when one sides pokemon is unable to continue!'

Paul and Misty stood on either side of a large water arena. Large white platforms littered the water, allowing pokemon that couldn't swim somewhere to stand.

Misty glared at her opponent. 'I hope your ready kid!' She shouted, holding Tentacruel's pokeball in her hand. Paul made no reply, holding his chosen pokeball at the ready, fighting back a smirk. There was no way she'd beat the pokemon he'd chosen.

'Alright then, Misty calls Tentacruel!'

'Torterra, standby for battle!'

Tentacruel appeared in a flash of light and landed in the water with a splash. In contrast Torterra came out roaring, landing on a white platform with a crash.

'Alright, let the match like, BEGIN!' Daisy shouted.

'Since you're already at a disadvantage, I'l let you have the first move,' Paul called out. This battle was absurd. Not only was she using a untrained pokemon against his most experienced, Paul already knew everyone of the jellyfish pokemon's moves. _All three of them. _This would be over so fast, she'd wouldn't have time to call a second attack.

'Ok, but you'l regret it! Tentacruel use bubblebeam!' A cluster of bubbles flew out from a mouth, hidden underneath it's large beak-like nose, flying at Torterra.

'Torterra, block it with leaf storm!' A horde of leaves flew forward, popping every bubble. Paul grinned, unable to hide his amusement any longer as he gestured forward. 'Now use frenzy plant!'

Huge barbed vines burst through the ground under the water, then broke the surface, sending water spraying everywhere. The vines re-directed themselves under Torterra's command, heading straight for Tentacruel. Misty watched them approach, determination etched all over her face.

'Tentacruel, dive under that platform in front of you! Get as deep as you can' The jellyfish pokemon sank beneath the surface, moving forwards underwater. Re-directing the frenzy plant, Torterra sent the vines crashing into the solid platform, cracking it into several pieces. Paul watched with amusement. This was over.

Misty grinned.

'Alright Tentacruel, grab that Torterra and show it who's boss!' Paul started, staring at her. _Has she lost her mind? _His puzzlement tuned to horror as suddenly tentacles emerged from the water in front of Torterra and grabbed the grass type, holding it tight. Even if it hadn't been recovering from the aftermath of using frenzy plant, it would have still found it difficult to escape. Paul looked on, stunned as Tenticruel's large head erupted from the water next to his grass type, glaring at them both, it's red orbs on the top of it's head glowing. 'Alright Tentacruel, I need you to listen to me carefully. I want you to pretend you're in the ocean with all your friends and your trying to subdue a seaking that you caught in your tentacles! Can you do that for me? How would you stop it?'

Paul watched on, not quite believing what was going on in front of him. What was this girl playing at! Regardless, Torterra had almost recovered, it was time to finish this. Paul opened his mouth to command it's next attack, then watched shocked as Tentacruel suddenly smashed the end of it's front beak-like nose into Torterra's back. His grass type roared in pain, before turning a slight shade of purple.

_Was that poison sting!_

* * *

Misty did a little cheer, leaping into the air. 'That was great Tentacruel, you just learned a new move! That's awesome!'

Paul growled, he'd had enough of this. 'Torterra, energy ball!'

'Drag it underwater!'

Tentacruel immediately sank back into the water, pulling the grass type in before it could fire it's attack. Paul gasped as he saw his starter pokemon disappear underneath the water's surface. Misty did a little laugh of triumph, closing a fist in front of her. 'Tentacruel, use wrap and hold it tight! Don't let it come back up!' Beneath the arena surface, Tentacruel tightened it's tentacles, holding onto the giant grass-ground type as it desperatly fought for air.

'Torterra! Giga drain it while your down there!' Paul yelled at the water, hoping his pokemon could hear him. Torterra did. Concentrating, it began to absorb energy from the water-poison type, using the energy to keep itself conscious as well as trying to replace the health that was being lost in ever increasing amounts, due to the poison sting.

Misty gritted her teeth, when she had thought of her strategy, she hadn't anticipated the use of an energy stealing move like giga drain. But now her only choice was to keep going, she only had this one shot. 'Tentacruel, spin in a tight circle, while extending a few of your tentacles! Use whirlpool!' Under the surface the jellyfish pokemon did just that, using the few tentacles it had not committed to holding Torterra down.

The water on the surface began to rotate with ever increasing speed, waves lapping over the sides of the arena. Paul and Misty stared at the centre of the cyclone, faces bearing the same, identical expressions.

After a few moments, the water began to slow back down. Both trainers watched as their respective pokemon both floated to the surface, eyes replaced by spirals.

* * *

'Like, wow, Tentacruel and Torterra as both unable to battle, can you believe it? This match is like, totally a draw!' Daisy called out from the side.

* * *

Paul looked on, stunned. His best pokemon, had been defeated. It didn't matter that Tentacruel had been knocked out as well, that was still a loss in his eyes. The purple haired trainer recalled Torterra from the water's surface, anger building as he looked down at it's pokeball.

'Paul?'

Paul looked up. Misty had walked around the arena, approaching him, holding Tentacruel's pokeball in her hand. 'That was a great battle. Your Torterra was really powerful.' Her anger seemed to have disappeared with the battle's finish.

'How?'

Paul could only utter a single word. Misty did a little laugh.

'Well, you see water types are always at their strongest when they're in the water. When you sent out Torterra, I knew the only chance Tentacruel had was if it could drag it under. I didn't expect giga drain though...as for poison sting and whirlpool, I guess when you've been around water types as long as I have, you learn a few things. You can't just learn a pokemon's attacks, real strength comes from within, from knowing your pokemon through and through and from how you and your pokemon work together and, also from how well you treat it. When you love your pokemon enough, anything's possible I guess.' Misty turned faintly red, embarrassed by her little speech. 'A friend of mine taught me that...' Her eyes took on a far away look. 'Anyway here's your Tentacruel, it was a lot of fun battling with it.'

Paul stared back at her, 'You sound just like him...'

'Who?'

'It doesn't matter. 'Paul looked down at the pokeball she was holding out for him to take, then shook his head.

'No, you keep it, I have a feeling you'l have better use for it than me.' Paul looked away, staring towards the doorway. 'Truth is, I was planning on releasing it anyway, I thought it was too weak to battle remember? I think you will be able to train it better than me.'

Misty stared at him for a long moment, before lowering her gaze to the pokeball in front of her. 'And when I do...?'

'Then I will want a rematch.' Paul finished a small smile on his face. Misty nodded, starting to smile herself.

'Hey you two! Are you like, done with the making up already? Because I'm getting hungry over here!' Both Misty and Paul jumped.

'Yeah we're done!' Misty yelled back Daisy, screwing up her face. The sensational sister poked a tongue out at her sibling, then walked through a side door, heading back to the kitchen. Misty turned back to look at the purple haired trainer. 'So...?'

Paul held out his hand.

Misty smiled again and shook it. 'Good bye Paul. Good luck with whatever you're doing. And don't try capturing any more pokemon around Nugget bridge again,' she finished giving him a small wink. Paul nodded, then turned and without another word, left the gym behind.

* * *

The sun was nearing the horizon once more, casting dark shadows across the street as Paul walked back to the pokemon center. He wasn't going to get anywhere tonight. Paul half smiled as he walked back inside the center, Chansey giving him a friendly wave as he passed by, heading for his room. Well it seemed he would get a early night after all, Reggie would be happy. Paul sighed and rubbed his head, wincing as a stray finger touched a particularly tender spot, before climbing back into bed, falling soundly asleep.

* * *

**So that's the end of chapter 11. I wanted to do a bit of a Misty chapter since Paul was passing through Cerulean, not sure if I did her justice though. Please review and give me your opinion thanks :)**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12 begins. And I'm afraid Paul has left Misty behind him, sorry haha. Hope you like the next part :)**

* * *

_Is this a test?' Paul shouted at the Pyramid King. Brandon smiled in response._

_'You'l have to see...'_

_'Force palm!'_

_'Use focus punch!'_

_Hariyama flew to towards the rock type, the palms of it's hands shining. Brandon's pokemon moved to one side, then as if deifying logic, smashed a glowing arm into Hariyama's face. Hariyama flew backwards, landing hard, unable to continue battling. Paul stared at his pokemon, then looked up at Regirock, before finally looking up at the Pyramid King himself. Brandon stood with crossed arms, looking back with a face cold as night._

Paul woke suddenly, bolting back upright, looking around frantically for his attacker, but there was nothing to be seen. His surrounding's were exactly the same the same as the night before, the ground remained covered in leaves due to the slow change of seasons, trees sprang up from the ground in all directions, a few stray beams of light cut through the forest's canopy. The purple haired trainer relaxed, his breathing slowly returning back to normal. _Just a dream. It had been so vivid though. _Paul shook his head, annoyed, then climbed out of his sleeping bag and began to pack his belongings back into his backpack.

Three days had passed since Paul left Cerulean City, sneaking out of the city gates early in the morning. The purple haired trainer had traveled south, heading down the short road that separated Cerulean from Saffron, before branching off into the countryside just before meeting Kanto's capital's suburbs, skirting around the city's edge. The Battle Arena was situated to the west, sitting between Saffron and Celadon and for once, Paul had wanted to reach a Frontier facility without any drama. So far his plan was working out. According to his pokenav, the coordinates showed it to be only a few miles away. Ignoring his first instincts to rush forward, Paul had decided for once to take his brother's advice and to set up camp in order to get a good night's rest before issuing his challenge. If the last two frontier brains had been anything to go by, he wanted to be fully refreshed. Both battles had been too close for comfort, this one he was determined to finish strong.

Wild spearow cried shrilly from the tree top branches as Paul walked between them, light growing ahead of him as he walked towards the edge of the small forest where he had spent the night, before emerging out of it's leafy embrace. The countryside fell down in front of him. Celadon sat to his south west, large skyscrapers dotted it's center, rivaling the Silph co towers in Saffron over to the east. Beyond Celadon, the land gave way to sparking water as Paul looked out to the small gulf. A long thin road lead out from Celadon's west side, traveling south over the water, vanishing into the distance. Paul looked back down at his pokenav, the device showing him the same result as a few minutes ago, to head straight south. Shoving the pokenav back in his pocket, the purple haired trainer set off again, picking a way down the rolling country.

Hoards of traveler's littered the road as Paul crossed the main route between Celadon and Saffron, mostly young pokemon trainers and families heading towards Celadon, no doubt attracted to the city's famous shopping district. A burger van sat on the side of the road, it's owner shouting, trying to attract passerby's with it's fat fried food. The purple trainer crossed over the route, ignoring the foul smell coming out of the back of the vehicle, travelling in the same direction back into the rough country for a few more miles until he came upon a small building with a P over the top. Adjusting his backpack over a pair of sore shoulders, Paul entered.

A nurse with bubblegum pink hair looked up as he opened the door, flashing a wide smile. Paul recognized her instantly. After all, she looked the same wherever he went. _That's got to be one big family..._

'Hello there! We don't often get many new faces down here, do we Chansey? Most trainers just go to Celadon or Saffron. Of course that must mean you are here for the Battle Arena? Unfortunately we don't have any sleeping facilities here for you to stay long...' Nurse Joy finished, her voice dropping to a worried tone.

'It's fine, I won't be staying long. I need you to quickly check on my pokemon, I need to make sure they're in top shape.'

'Well of course!' The nurse replied, her face brightening. 'No problem at all, just give your pokeballs to Chansey there.' A large pink pokemon practically came sprinting out of a side door, it's small arms held out in expectation.

'Erm thanks.'

Paul watched as Chansey disappeared again. _They must get pretty bored sat here with so few trainers using it... _Still it told Paul something about the Battle Arena if it required a full time pokemon center on standby so close. Obviously many trainers had gone there and left with some pretty beaten up pokemon to warrent it's existence. _Well it doesn't matter, that won't be happening to me. _Paul sat on a nearby chair, face grim, lost in his own thoughts.

A sound of a toilet flushing interrupted his thoughts. Paul looked up as a door opposite to the one Chansey had disappeared opened suddenly. A large man dressed in a blue hawainan shirt backed out of it, muttering.

'Why do I always order a cheeseburger? Tastes so good when I eat it...shame I can never keep them down...'

Paul cleared his throat loudly.

Scott span around, looking at the purple haired trainer, his face slightly green, but his mouth forming into a large grin. 'Paul my boy! Good to see you. So you ready for your next battle?'

'Yes...' Paul paused, looking back at the frontier guide quizzically.

'Oh don't worry about me. Stupid burger van gets me every time. It's sure nice of you to ask though.'

'Right.'

'I hope you're prepared for this one, Greta can be quite dangerous.'

'Greta?'

'That's right. Greta's the frontier brain of the Battle Arena. And she's not to be taken lightly.' Scott sat down next to the purple haired trainer, crossing one leg over the other. 'She's even built the facility like a fighting dojo. Greta's very dedicated to her training and doesn't go easy on her challengers. She's well known for her fiery battle style.'

'So let me guess, she uses fighting types right?' Paul couldn't help letting a bit of contempt slip into his tone.

'That's right. Greta loves to take the fight to her opponent and see what they're made of.'

The purple haired trainer scowled at the floor. He had always looked down on trainers that only used one type. To do that was to leave oneself open to unnecessary weaknesses. Gyms were different, they had to choose a theme. But to do it when you had the option was unforgivable. This frontier brain would be easier to defeat than he thought... _No, that's what you thought last time. Stay focused. _Still, it would be foolish not to use the advantages he had. Silently, Paul began to ponder which pokemon he would use.

'Chansey! Chansey!'

Paul looked up to see the pink egg pokemon running back towards him, a tray holding six pokeballs in it's small hands. Nurse Joy looked up from behind her desk. 'Chansey says your pokemon are just fine. Good luck in your upcoming match, we hope to see you again soon!'

_Hopefully not too soon _Paul couldn't help thinking as he took his pokemon back. Scott looked at the young trainer as he got back to his feet.

'So Paul, you ready to mix it up huh. Your third frontier symbol awaits...'

Paul gave a stiff nod, his mind still working hard.

* * *

A large thick stone wall appeared from the tree line as Paul walked along the short path from the pokemon center, Scott following close behind. A pair of large oak doors covered a gap in the stone brickwork straight ahead, a big red and white pokeball hanging over the top. Paul paused, the oak doors looked pretty solid. The building in front was deathly silent. The purple haired trainer walked up to the great oak door and knocked loudly with his fist. There was no sounds of movement from within. The pokemon trainer glanced back at Scott.

The frontier brain walked up behind him grinning. 'You're going to have to do better than that, Greta won't even open the doors if she doesn't consider you worth it. Call out your challenge.' Paul looked back at the doorway. 'And better make it loud...' Scott added as an afterthought. Paul gritted his teeth, getting annoyed. _I'll soon show you what I'm worth Greta! _Taking half a step backwards, the purple haired trainer raised his head into the air.

'Greta! I challenge you to a battle! Open these doors now!'

A small pause followed, then a loud voice answered. A fierce voice filled with with confidence and amusement. 'Ha! I accept your challenge!'

With a groan, the huge oak doors slowly began to open, spilling sunlight through. Paul held up a hand, shielding his eyes.

A large courtyard appeared in front of the pair, through the opening door. Lines of men and women spread out from each side of the doorway, leading inwards towards a large old fashioned stone building with pillars holding up it's large roof at the very center of the courtyard. Paul walked forward, his eyes fixed on the figure stood at the base of the building. Like the men and women either side of him, this person also wore a martial arts style uniform, but while all the others were blue, her's was jet black with a white belt. A crop of yellow hair covered her head, her feet bare.

'The Battle Arena welcomes you! I am the frontier brain and Arena Tycoon Greta!' Greta stepped forward and thrust her palms out in front of her, striking at an invisible enemy twice with both hands, before settling back into a fighting stance, feet spread wide, arms up. 'I hope you're ready for a battle!'

Scott walked forward, passing Paul. 'Thanks Greta. This is your challenger, Paul, from Veilstone city.' Paul glanced at the over-weight man, slightly annoyed that he had made his introductions for him.

Greta smiled, then brought her arms down to her sides, her fists still clenched. 'So then, Paul of Veilstone, are you ready for the battle of your life!'

'I am!' Paul said loudly, stepping forward. 'I can take anything you throw at me!'

'Ush! So be it... Spin the wheel!'

_What? _Paul looked over to where the Arena Tycoon was pointing. A large wheel was emerging from the ground slowly, pinned through it's center to a iron plate behind, holding it in the air free to spin. The circle was split into six. Repeated twice, three different patterns were dotted into the surface.

Scott adjusted his glasses, turning back to face Paul. 'You see, Greta offers a choice of a one on one battle, a two on two or a three on three match. So make sure you make it land on the right one...'

'That right!' Greta pumped both hands in the air in front of her. 'So spin the wheel and lets see how many pokemon I get to use when I throw you out of here! Ush!'

Paul glared back as he approached the wheel. 'It's the other way around! I'm gonna leave you way behind...' Grabbing the edge of the circle, he span it as hard as he could, the patterns on the surface turning into one blur.

'Finally, a challenger with guts! I like your attitude! I hope you battle as well as you talk!'

_You'l see soon enough. _Paul watched as the wheel began to slow down, finally stopping completely. An arrow, not attached to the wheel, pointed to a segment with two dots.

'So a two on two battle eh?' Scott exclaimed. 'That's sure to be a good match!'

Greta grinned then, moving her arms above her head, delivered an karate chop to the air in front of her, her hand coming to a rest, pointing at Paul. 'So, a two on two match! Are you ready to throw down!'

Paul clenched his fists. 'Let's do it then!'

'Yes! Bring it on! Ush!'

_My, my, those two sure are getting into this,_ Scott thought with amusement, watching the little display in front of him. _Greta sure has a way of getting people fired up..._

* * *

The two trainers stood on either side of a plain battlefield inside the old fashioned building, Greta with her hands on her hips and Paul with his arms crossed. Lines of students covered the edges of the building, resting on their knees, waiting to watch the battle. Scott sat on a bench in the corner, smiling widely. A older looking student walked up to the mid point of the battlefield, raising both hands high.

'The frontier battle between Arena Tycoon Greta and the challenger Paul will now begin! Each trainer will use two pokemon, the first trainer to two wins with be the victor. Now trainers, reveal your pokemon!'

'Ush! Time to bring out my pokemon! Hariyama, Medicham let's go!' Greta exclaimed, throwing two pokeballs. Two flashes of light appeared on her side of the field as two fighting types jumped forward. The first landed on the arena floor with a crash. A bulky orange and white upper body, a blue mono-brow shaped in a V above it's eyes, it's blue legs covered partially by a broken yellow skirt, the pokemon clenched it's large orange fists in front of it, mirroring it's mistress. The second pokemon jumped from it's pokeball, light as a ballerina. Large purple legs and head, with a thin pink torso, this pokemon danced from one foot to the other in it's eagerness to battle. The two fighting types then turned around and ran back behind Greta, before turning back around to face the battlefield. The Arena Tycoon looked at Paul expectantly.

_Hmph. There must be some sort of rule here where trainers have to show their pokemon before the battle. Well that's fine with me... _'Nidoking, Gliscor, standby for battle!'

Nidoking landed with a crash, shaking the battlefield, the purple poison type lowering it's horn and staring at Greta. Gliscor appeared in the air, giving a cocky cry as it circled the arena once, before landing back on it's tail by Nidoking.

'Very well then. I'll be starting with Haryiama!' Greta shouted out confidently.

'Fine. Nidoking, you're first. Gliscor move back now,' Paul ordered.

The poison ground type faced off against the large fighting type on the battlefield. Paul and Greta locked gazes, both trying to stare the other down.

'Ush! Hariyama, use focus punch!'

'Nidoking, mega punch!

The two pokemon raced at each other, fists raised ready to strike, their respective trainers watching, fire burning in their eyes.

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**I think I'l leave it there for now. Sorry for leaving you on a cliff hanger like that, I promise the next chapter will be all action though...I know nothing much happened in this one, but please review if you have any comments cheers :)**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hey guys chapter 13 is here, bit later than usual sorry had stuff going on at home. But anyway here it is, Paul v Greta hope you enjoy:)**

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'Ush! Hariyama, use focus punch!'

'Nidoking, mega punch!

The poison type and the fighting type met in the center of the field, fists crashing into each other with great force, before the shock wave blew them both backwards. Hariyama rolled backwards, flipping itself back onto it's feet to face it's opponent. Nidoking slid back on the tips of it's clawed feet, coming to a rest just in front of it's trainer.

'Earth power lets go!'

The poison ground type roared, then stuck the arena floor hard. Large crevices appeared, the force of the impact so great, it shook many of the surrounding students from their knees to their backs. Greta however remained perfectly balanced, smiling as she looked forward, her pokemon mirroring her as it took the attack without flinching.

'Fine then, Nidoking bring it down with head smash!'

Nidoking ran forward again, head lowered.

'Hariyama counter it, another focus punch!'

The pokemon ran towards each other for a second time, the fighting type leaning out of the way of the head smash at the last moment to deliver a powerful punch to the side of it's horned head. Paul stared forward in frustration as he saw his pokemon slide to the edge of the arena on it's side. 'Nidoking get up now!'

'Hariyama after it! Use arm thrust!'

The poison type had only just climbed to it's feet before Hariyama was upon it once again, Nidoking braced itself as Hariyama delivered multiple open palm strikes to it's abdomen, one after another.

'Nidoking, start fighting back now with megahorn!' Paul yelled out as Nidoking was knocked back into the wall of the building. Nidoking roared, before slamming a glowing horn into Hariyama, sending it stumbling back. 'Now go, another megahorn!'

'Hariyama, flip it!,' Greta called out, her arms throwing an imaginary enemy to one side. Nidoking grunted in surprise as Hariyama slapped it's hands together, catching it's glowing horn, before using the poison type's own momentum to flip it head over heels, onto its back...

* * *

_Hmm Paul's got to get more inventive than charging head on and trying to over power Greta. The problem is, she's much more experienced at taking on opponents at close range... _Scott thought worryingly as he watched the battle from the corner...

* * *

'Hariyama, final focus punch!' Greta called out triumphantly, punching downwards with one hand, mirroring her pokemon as Hariyama raised it's fist, prepared to strike at the pokemon at it's feet. Paul watched with gritted teeth as the fighting type delivered it's strike, sending up a cloud of dust, before leaping back to it's side of the arena.

'Nidoking! You better get up now!' Wearily, the poison type climbed back to it's feet, staggering a little. Greta looked on, a little surprised. _Seems this one is stronger than I... _Hariyama suddenly grunted in pain, falling down to one knee clutching at it's chest, turning a slight shade of purple.

_Finally!_

'Nidoking go, mega punch now!' Greta looked on in shock and confusion as Paul's pokemon ran forward, delivering a powerful blow to Hariyama as he pokemon rested on it's knees. Hariyama's eyes widened as the blow made contact, before falling backwards. The fighting type skid to a halt just in front of it's mistress, before flipping itself back to it's feet once again, still clutching at it's chest.

* * *

_So that's why Paul allowed Nidoking to take so many attacks at close range, he was waiting for Nidoking's ability to infect Hariyama..._Scott thought with wonderment. _Still, it was a risky strategy, Nidokings pretty beaten up, Pauls gonna have to finish this quick._

* * *

'Nidoking, return now.'

* * *

_Or maybe not..._

* * *

Paul's great poison type wearily made it's way back to stand behind it's trainer again. Gliscor immediately started bouncing up and down on it's tail in it's eagerness to start. Greta let out a little laugh. 'So the great Nidoking runs away, ha! I'm disappointed Paul, I had hoped for an opponent that would stand and fight. But we can keep going can't we Hariyama? Ush!' Hariyama immediately straightened up, ignoring it's status disadvantage as it brought it's arms up, moving back into a fighting stance.

Paul watched both of his opponents with calculating eyes. _I'm not going under estimate you Greta... I almost lost the last two battles through doing that. Nidoking did it's job. And as challenger I can substitute, unlike you... _'Gliscor let's go, start off with aerial ace!'

Gliscor immediately launched itself skyward from behind it's trainer, before plummeting back down towards Hariyama, white streaks of light flying behind it as it picked up speed.

'Hariyama meet it with arm thrust!' Greta yelled, thrusting her own arm forward. Hariyama punched out towards the flying ground type with a open palm, faltering a little as the poison took effect again. Gliscor spun around the strike and impacted into the fighting type's chest.

'Haryiiii!' Hariyama cried out as it somersaulted backwards. Greta gasped as her pokemon impacted into the wall behind her.

'Come on Hariyama, focus, we're not out of this fight yet!' Hariyama picked itself back up, wincing as it got to it's feet, then ran back out into the battlefield. Gliscor circled it from above, Paul watched with narrowed eyes.

'Hmph, fine then. Gliscor another aerial ace!'

The ground flying type flew towards fighting type once more. Greta closed her eyes and breathed out deeply, then snapped them back open as Paul's pokemon crossed the final distance to it's opponent.

'Endure Hariyama, then follow up with reversal!'

_What, no!_

Hariyama braced itself, taking Gliscor's attack head on. The aerial ace knocked it to it's knees, but then the fighting type leapt up after the fang scorp pokemon, using all the power in it's legs to gather speed, before slamming a fist into Gliscor with incredible force, sending it flying. 'Gliiiii...scor!' Paul's pokemon cried out in pain as it impacted into the wall above it's trainer's head.

Hariyama landed back on it's feet, it's breathing labored as it watched Gliscor fall to the ground. Greta shouted out in triumph 'Yes Hariyama! Great fighting! Ush!'

'Haryi!'

Greta's pokemon crossed it's fists like Greta, then suddenly grunted in pain. The Arena Tycoon cried out in shock as her pokemon suddenly fell over backwards, not moving.

'Hariyama is unable to continue! This round goes to Paul!' The student off to one side in the center of the battlefield shouted.

'Gliiii...scor.' Gliscor slowly pushed itself back up using it's claws, before hopping forward on it's tail to it's position in front of Paul again, sweat running down it's face.

* * *

_So, the poison finally took it's tole... Paul used Nidoking's brute strength and ability to wear Hariyama down, then switched to Gliscor hoping to pick it off using Gliscor's speedy attacks. Nice, but still that last move has to have taken him by surprise... Reversal is a move made stronger the weaker the user gets. And by using endure first, Greta ensured it hit Gliscor at maximum power. With both Paul's pokemon now nearly exhausted, he going have it tough from here on out..._

* * *

'Hariyama return.'

Greta looked at the pokeball containing her defeated pokemon. 'Hariyama, you fought a good fight out there, I'm very proud. Now relax and let Medicham finish this up.' Greta looked up with a fierce grin. 'Medicham, you're up!' The mediate pokemon leapt forward into the air, flipping several times before landing lightly on it's feet, dancing as it threw kicks into the air, trying to look intimidating. The purple haired trainer furrowed his brow, thinking hard. Medicham wouldn't be easy to bring down. While not as physically strong as Hariyama, Medicham made up for it in agility. And since it was part psychic also, that probably meant it had a few ranged attacks at it's disposal. Now Greta knew physical attacks on Nidoking would poison her pokemon, that strategy was useless. This could be difficult.

'Hey Paul!' Greta called over. The purple haired trainer looked up quickly. 'Well done. You didn't allow the heat of battle to cloud your judgement, the most important rule in combat! But in battle, you have to learn to make your weakness into an advantage as well. Now let's see what else you've got!'

Paul returned his gaze to Medicham without replying, watching it for a long moment with crossed arms. If this worked, then he wouldn't need to come up with a new strategy. 'Gliscor, sand attack go!' Gliscor immediately began to beat the ground with it's claws, sending clouds of sand over the fighting psychic type. Greta watched calmly as her pokemon became completely blinded by the fang scorp pokemon's attack.

'Now Gliscor, finish with guillotine!'

* * *

_Woah! The kids going for the kill... _Scott thought, surprised that Paul would try for such an easy victory.

* * *

Gliscor leapt into the air, before swooping down into the cloud of sand hiding Medicham, it's craws crossed across it's chest glowing bright white.

Both frontier brain and trainer watched as the sand cloud slowly fell to the ground. Gliscor appeared in the center, Medicham held round the neck in it's right claw. 'Gliscor, finish it!' Paul yelled. His pokemon immediately slammed it's opponent into the ground.

_It's over..._

The Arena Tycoon grinned, then punched forward. 'Now, focus punch Medicham!'

_What!_

The pokemon in Gliscor's claw suddenly disintegrated into a thousand white shards. Gliscor binked in confusion, then looked up to see the real Medicham running towards it at full speed.

'Gliiiicsor!'

Medicham hit Gliscor at full speed, putting all it's momentum into the blow. The ground flying type catapulted backwards, before hitting the ground again, bouncing off it's head, before landing on it's back. 'Glii-scorrrr...' It mumbled, dazed.

* * *

_Distract, then destroy. Classic fighting strategy. And classic Greta. Now, hows Paul going to overcome this one... _Scott wondered quietly, getting closer to the edge of his bench with every move the pokemon made.

* * *

'Medicham, finish with ice punch!'

'Gliscor, meet it head on with night slash!'

Both pokemon flew at each other again, Medicham with glowing white hands, Gliscor with claws of pulsating darkness, exchanging powerful blows. Gliscor flew left and right, hitting the fighting type at all angles, Medicham stood firm, blocking most of it's attacks and striking back whenever the flying ground type came within range. Both trainers stood and watched while their pokemon dueled in the center of the arena. Paul leaned forward, watching the fight. Gliscor was taking a lot more blows than it delivered. It was time to bring it to an end.

'Gliscor break away and fly up!'

Paul's pokemon immediately jumped back from the battle and bounced skyward on it's tail, reaching the top of the building.

'Now, giga impact!'

Gliscor immediately spread it's wings, stopping it's assent, and dove back towards the fighting type, disappearing completely in the build up of purple pinkish energy. Greta grinned furiously, elated. This was the fight she had been waiting for. Too many weak challengers had come and gone from her dojo, but now finally, she was facing an opponent that wasn't afraid to go the distance. 'Medicham charge your focus punch, maximum power!'

Medicham half bent it's legs, drawing it's right arm back to it's waist like a coiled spring, fist glowing brighter and brighter as it watched Gliscor draw closer and closer.

'Do it, Medicham!'

'Finish it!'

The two pokemon met in a large collision, Gliscor running head on into Medicham's punch, but the force of the impact blowing the fighting type into the arena floor hard. Both pokemon slowly pushed themselves off the ground, staring at the other.

'Gliscor get back now,' Paul ordered.

Exhausted, Gliscor slowly turned around and began to claw it's way back past the white line at Paul's edge of the battlefield. It was better to call back the fang scorp pokemon now so it could recharge from that last attack on the sidelines. Still, even though Gliscor hadn't yet been declared knocked out, it might as well have been, Paul thought as he watched it. It would only take one more attack at best. 'Nidoking, let's go!' Slightly refreshed from the short break in battling, the purple poison type rushed forward, bellowing at Medicham.

Greta watched the poison type with a careful eye. If Medicham attacked physically, she risked infecting her pokemon on Nidoking's poison point. This opponent would have to be kept at a distance. But that was fine, because now, Medicham was the one with the type advantage. Still, Greta disliked using her pokemon's psychic abilities, she preferred to be up close and personal when battling. _Then again, a true fighter doesn't bring her sword into battle and leave her arrows at home... _Medicham rose to it's feet once more, ready to fight again.

'Medicham, confusion!' The Arena tycoon shouted, pushing an invisible force forward with her hands. Medicham mirrored her, sending waves of psychic energy at the drill pokemon.

'Keep a distance!' Paul ordered, his pokemon rapidly backing away from the radiating psychic energy. 'Use stone edge.'

Razor sharp rocks flung themselves at the fighting type, only to change course as they came within a few feet of Medicham, impacting into the ground instead.

Paul snarled. 'Use thunderbolt then!' This time, bolts of electrical energy flew at Medicham, again the attack was deflected into the ground. The frontier brain grinned victoriously. With Nidoking's ranged attacks unable to get past Medicham's psychic powers, Paul would have no choice but to send his pokemon charging in to where Medicham would rip it apart with it's superior speed and psychic powers. _Come on, come and attack then..._

'Keep up that thunderbolt!'

_Huh?_

Rapid bolts of electricity flew at Medicham again. 'Medicham, stop them all!' The frontier brain cried, swinging her arm across her body. Her pokemon continued to deflect the voltage away using it's confusion attack. _He's getting desperate... _

'Medi-chaaammmm!'

Greta jumped in shock as Medicham took a electric attack head on and fell to it's knees wincing. _Oh no! Medicham must be more tired than I thought!_

'Nidoking, focus energy.'

Paul watched as his pokemon broke off it's attacks and began taking deep breaths, heightening it's critical hit ratio. Despite the heat of battle, the purple haired trainer stayed calm, waiting for the right moment.

'Medicham go, end it with a final focus punch!' The Arena Tycoon screamed out from the other side of the arena. Gathering the remainder of it's strength, Medicham sprinted forward towards it's enemy, fist raised.

'Nidoking megahorn!' The drill pokemon charged forward, it's horn on it's head glowing. The two pokemon closed in on each other, the fighting type lunged forward to attack...

'Switch to earth power!' Paul yelled out suddenly.

Mid-stride, the drill pokemon shook the earth, this time by stamping the ground hard. Medicham faltered, then lost it's balance, tumbling forward into the poison type's thick legs before it could deliver it's attack.

'End this Nidoking.' Paul ordered calmly.

Medicham looked up in fear at the poison type towering above it. Nidoking roared, then slammed a glowing horn into the fighting psychic type, dealing a critical hit to the top of Medicham's head.

'Medicham no!'

The drill pokemon backed away towards it's master, the result of the match was clear to see. Medicham lay, not moving in the center of the arena, face down, arms spread wide.

'Medicham is unable to continue! Therefore the winner of this match by two rounds to zero is the challenger Paul!'

* * *

Greta looked forward at her pokemon in disbelief, then bowed her head and smiled. In the corner of the arena, Scott shouted a little cheer. The purple haired trainer closed his eyes and recalled both his pokemon, not moving from his position. He had won, and this time, he hadn't lost a single pokemon. _Although it was close..._ Paul thought as he remembered how much damage Gliscor had taken.

'Paul!'

Paul snapped his eyes open, looking up. Greta had crossed the battlefield and was staring him straight in the face. 'Paul! That was a good fight. Not many can wear down my prize fighters like you did.' Greta then bowed from the waist, back perfectly straight. All around the arena, her students followed suit, paying homage to the victor. 'Now I am honored to present you with this symbol.' Greta held out a hand, revealing the Guts symbol. 'This symbol is given as proof of your victory here in the Battle Arena. Wear it with pride.'

Paul reached forward and took it, looking at the Arena Tycoon as he did. 'Thanks. It was a good fight.' He relied, nodding a little at her.

'Yes! We will fight again someday! Ush!'

* * *

Paul strode off into the distance, the sun setting in front of him. The Battle Arena was behind him, left in the distance, forgotten. The purple trainer put his hand in his pocket, one hand feeling around for certain objects. The Guts, Tactics and Knowledge symbols danced around between his fingers. _Three down, I'm half-way there... _Paul clenched his fist, holding the symbols tight in his hand. No matter what lay ahead, nothing would stop him now. Just three more and he would finally face Brandon.

_'Is this a test?'_

_'You'l have to see...'_

Word echoing across time through the purple haired trainer's mind, Paul strode forward, his mind already fixed on his next battle.

* * *

**Hope you liked it, the next chapter should be up in the next couple of days. Please review if you liked it or tell me what went wrong if you didn't. Cheers :)**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14 is up, Paul is on his way to his next frontier battle. Hope you enjoy :)**

* * *

The sun had almost set over Kanto's capital, Saffron's residents long since left work behind them and traveled back home out of it's center. Even the pokemon center seemed oddly quiet as he entered, the hordes of pokemon trainers that had occupied the place days before had all but disappeared. Only a few remained, a female teenager curled up in a armchair in the corner and a young boy talking quietly over the video phone, a poliwag asleep on his lap. Taking a seat next to him, Scott inputted a familiar number. His hopes weren't high. He had already tried twice that day. But he had promised to keep his caller up to date on his young challenger's progress and Scott prided himself on pleasing others wherever he could. A plumb finger quickly typed in the number, the over-weight man began to wait patiently as a dial tone began to sound.

Beep beep. Beep beep...

He wasn't there again. Scott often wondered at times if one day he might disappear all together. Wearily he made to end the call when suddenly, to his surprise, the screen flickered to life. A aged face with grey hair covering it's top stared out at Scott. Stared with eyes containing a lifetime of experiences.

'Greetings Scott.'

'Hey. How are you?'

'Very well, thank you. How's the boy doing?'

_Straight to the point. But that has always been the Brandon way..._ 'He's doing well. Very well in fact, he defeated Greta earlier today. The battle was quite impressive I must say. And that's his third symbol in only two weeks.'

'Hmm.'

Scott watched Brandon's face carefully, but no sign of his inner thoughts showed on his weathered face. Scott knew nothing of Paul and Brandon's battle in Snowpoint, only that it had occurred and according to his older brother Reggie, Paul had lost. Badly. Scott found the frontier master difficult to get a read on at the best of times, but he thought he could detect a gleam of something lurking in Brandon's eyes. _Pride? Or maybe excitement... _Putting the thought to one side, Scott continued, 'Course many trainers have managed to obtain three symbols... There's plenty of time for the kid to falter, I hope not though, because actually, I'm starting to root for this one...'

'No. I have no doubt Paul make it to me. His will won't allow a different path. The boy had strength before, he only required control, and if he's now finally obtained it...' A slight smile of anticipation touched the corner of the pyramid king's mouth. 'Where is he heading next?'

'To be honest, I'm kinda flying blind,' Scott chuckled. 'He flew out of the Battle Arena so fast I didn't have a chance to ask. Using logic though, my guess would be the Battle Pike. It's closer than the Tower and visiting the Palace before the Pike doesn't make sense, it's practically on the way...'

'Hmm, so he'l be battling Lucy then.' The pyramid king fell silent for a long moment, lost in his thoughts again. 'Very well. There is no need to contact me again Scott. Not until he does, after he obtains his six symbols. Until then, farewell.'

The screen turned abruptly blank once again before Scott had a chance to say goodbye. The frontier guide slowly stood and stretched his arms out wide. The young boy had long since disappeared, the girl lay, still asleep in the chair in the corner.

* * *

Paul kept a careful eye out for traffic as he walked across the road. Despite being Kanto's second largest city, Celadon was easily the busiest. The reasons were perhaps two-fold, Paul thought as he fought his way forward through the crowds lining the streets. One, Celadon was well known for it's shopping district, the merchandise here surpassed anywhere else in Kanto, trainers would travel miles in order to purchase the rare pokeballs and potions on offer. And second on the list was Celadon's gambling district. As Paul walked through it's center, he had to conclude that was probably the main reason people came here. Bright lights shone out from all directions, large neon lights pulsated from different casinos lighting up the night sky, upbeat music filling the air. Paul watched scornfully as hordes of tourists fanned in and around the area, each one with the same look of fevered excitement on their faces. People came here hoping their lives could change with a roll of a dice. Paul believed in making the change happen himself.

Either way it didn't matter, Paul was here for only one reason. On the other side of Celadon lay the cycle road, the shortest path to Fuchsia city. And next to Fuchsia city lay the Battle Pike, the next facility Paul intended to conquer. All he had to do was get through this city. _Which is proving harder than I expected..._the purple-haired trainer thought as he dodged past another throng of people, these all women dressed in posh dresses, trying to look sophisticated as they staggered down the street. _Maybe I should just call it a night and find a hotel..._ After all, it was getting late. And he was still worn out from the battle with Greta earlier that day. Course it was pointless looking here, there was no way he'd find a room at this time of night. And Celadon pokemon center was on the other side of town. Paul rubbed his eyes and pushed on. _I'm not going to get anywhere by thinking about it..._

'Hey kid, you want a really rare pokemon? One time only, I'll sell you this super powerful Magikarp for only 500 dollars! One time only...'

Paul shrugged off the salesman with a incredulous stare before continuing. _Who would be stupid enough to take that deal? _The noise of the city slowly grew quieter as he started to leave the flashing lights of the casinos behind him. Lamps lit the murky pavements as Paul walked through the deserted streets. The pokemon trainer kept a close eye on his surroundings. A less attractive quality of Celadon city was the high crime rate. Once rumored to be the hideout of a secret criminal organisation of pokemon thieves, the city had never quite recovered. In a place filled with money, there would always be those who attempted to exploit it. With some relief, the purple-haired trainer finally reached the Pokemon center, suppressing a yawn as he walked through the sliding doors into a empty room.

'Hello there, welcome to Celadon pokemon center. How may we help you?' Nurse Joy called out from the counter, same as ever.

'I need a room. And my pokemon need healing...' Paul stated simply as he put two pokeballs on the counter, namely Gliscor's and Nidoking's.

'We can look after your pokemon no problem. But I'm afraid we're all full up at the moment... You're welcome to sleep in the reception area though, very sorry...'

'It's fine. I'll do that.'

'I'm afraid it's been even busier than usual, ever since that new contest hall opened a few weeks ago, the center has been packed to the brim every night with new coordinators.'

'It's fine,' Paul repeated, turning with a nod and walking away. _Coordinators... the center should be re-severed for trainers only! These contests are spreading like a cold. _Paul had never approved of the still relatively new craze of contests. Coordinators used battling to show their pokemon's beauty, rather than it's strength. But, it seemed the public didn't agree as the contest league had manged to spread from it's birth place Hoenn, to all the way into Sinnoh and now Kanto. _ Anyway, who cares? _Paul thought to himself as he pulled a sleeping bag out of his backpack and laid it in a corner. Tomorrow he would reach the cycle road, hire a bike, and ride down the route with ease, reaching Fuchsia by this time tomorrow. From there, the Battle Pike was only a stones throw away. Nothing else mattered. The purple-haired trainer climbed inside his bag and stretched out on the hard floor facing the wall, trying to get comfortable.

The doors of the center opened again, sending a draft of cold air floating over the back of Paul's head. The pokemon trainer immediately pulled his sleeping bag around tighter. Light footsteps could be heard walking behind him.

'Hello there, welcome to Celadon pokemon center, how may we help you?'

'Hi! I can you please check on my Pachirisu and Quilava for me? I need them in top shape for the contest tomorrow!' A exicited female voice relied.

'Of course we can. Just place them on the counter. I'm afraid we don't have room for you to stay...'

It's fine, I checked in earlier, I got the last room remember?'

'I'm sorry, so many pokemon trainers, I can lose track easily...'

Paul wrapped the top of his sleeping over his head, cutting off the noice of the conversation behind him. _Another coordinator... and she has a room. Figures._ As the footsteps faded away, the pokemon trainer closed his eyes, drifting off into sleep easily.

* * *

The pokemon center became a hive of activity early. Paul was woken by the sounds of excited voices and shrill pokemon cries. Climbing out of his bag, the pokemon trainer began to pack it back into his rucksack, watching dozens of trainers running around.

'_I need them in top shape for the contest tomorrow!'_

Paul pulled his backpack onto his back, adjusting the straps. Of course, these were all coordinators. No wonder everyone was awake so early. Not that that was a problem, but the purple-haired trainer stared in annoyance at the long line leading to a harassed Nurse Joy. He still needed to pick up his pokemon before he left. But he had no desire to stand in a long queue. Paul sighed, running a hand through his hair. _Well I guess I'm waiting then... _

The small cafeteria in the back of the center was just as crowded. Paul quickly grabbed a bowl of cereal and sat down in a corner. Pokemon trainers and coordinators alike lined all the tables, chattering loudly. Paul re-directed his attention to a large television, mounted on the wall. Any sound emitting was impossible to hear, but the news report was clearly talking about the weather. As he watched the screen flickered over to a satellite image of southern Kanto, showing a large storm front moving over the southern seas. Paul watched carefully. He would soon be crossing that sea to the Battle Palace. _That storm better have passed by the time I reach it, I don't need another one holding me back..._Even as he watched, warning signs started flashing across the monitor before the screen was blocked by a couple of young female trainers, the first with short red hair and the second with longer blue. Paul returned to his breakfast, hastily gulping down the remaining dregs. The trainers where beginning to fan out of a side door, excited voices disappearing out into the morning air. Finally he could collect his pokemon and leave. Paul stood up and walked back towards the reception.

_Wait..._

Paul span around and looked back at the television. The room was now completely empty. The purple-haired trainer remained perfectly still, his mind whirring, staring intently at the screen. The news report had finished, instead there was now some documentary on about the habitats of wild bird pokemon. Paul shook his head, trying to clear the strange sense of de ja vu that had seemed to wash over him temporary, then turned away once again.

* * *

The sun began to shine brightly as Paul started to leave the outskirts of the city. The route here was easy going, only a short cross country road separated Celadon from the cycle path. Paul had already been overtaken by several cyclists that day, some fitness fanatics determined to make use of the good weather, others on large motorcycles, wearing dark leather jackets, travelling in small gangs. To his left, the sea sparkled brightly, no hint of the bad weather in the sky. Ahead, a large bridge cut across the water a few miles up the road, disappearing into the distance over the water, cyclists and motorcycles just barley visible running up and down it. Along the side of the road, two pokemon trainers were engaged in a fierce battle, one nidorina battering itself against the hard shell of a wartortle. Paul reached a hand under his coat, feeling the six small spheres clipped onto his belt. Nidoking, Torterra, Electivire, Charmeleon, Gastrodon and Froslass. Gliscor had been sent back to Reggie, according to Nurse Joy, the pokemon had received quite a bit of damage in the battle with Greta and needed further rest and Paul certainly didn't want to carry a pokemon around that was only at half strength. The rest were all ready for battle if the need arose. Shoving a hand back into his pocket, the pokemon trainer pressed on, walking right up to the small building sat near the beginning of the bridge. Dozens of shiny bicycles shone out on the front window. Paul entered, the door letting of a brief chime as he opened it.

Inside, more bicycles lived, littered all around the shop. To one side a youngish looking man sat by a cash register reading a magazine. As Paul made a beeline for him, the man looked up.

'Hey there, what can I do for you?'

'I need to hire a bike,' Paul stated simply.

'Sure, no worries, just fill in this form here and take your choice, my buddy down the far side will pick it up when you leave.'

'That's fine.'

As Paul inspected the paper given to him, more cyclists shot by the shop, these all in dark jackets and sporting wild hair styles. The shop owner watched them go, shaking his head. He knew that particular group too well, all they did was cause trouble for the other users of the cycle road. _They should be banned from using it..._

'There you go,' Paul said, handing the sheet of paper back.

The shop owner snapped back to his young customer. 'Yeah cheers, just take your pick of bicycle. Have a nice day!' He added as the purple haired trainer wheeled a blue bike out of the shop door.

* * *

The wind blew Paul's hair in all directions as the pokemon trainer sped south down the cycle road. The sea expanded in all directions underneath, the mainland retreating quickly behind. The road was fairly busy, but Paul was able to make good time and slowly the other end of the bridge came into view, the coast getting bigger and bigger. _This is good, Il reach Fuchsia by dinnertime at this rate. Maybe I should pass it completely and make for the Pike before nightfall..._

'Yeehaa!'

'Waahoo!'

Startled, Paul glanced behind him. A large group of cyclists were gaining on him, all sporting dark clothing and waving their arms excitedly. The purple-haired trainer sighed and pulled off to one side. They were clearly capable of riding a lot faster than he was and on a narrow bridge, Paul had no desire to get run over. However to his surprise, the group had no desire to overtake him.

With a screech of a dozen brakes, Paul suddenly found himself surrounded by cyclists. 'Hey kid, don't you know you can't ride on the bridge without paying the tole. This is our bridge, you know,' the oldest looking one said aggressively, dismounting and walking up to the pokemon trainer.

Paul made no reply, studying the person in front of him. Like his companions, his one wore a dark leather jacket, cut off at the shoulders revealing tanned muscular arms. The jacket hung unzipped over a bare chest, dog-tags hanging from his neck. But what commanded his attention was the man's bright orange hair, gelded straight up in the air, at least a foot high. Paul stared at it, bemused. _He looks worse than Tucker did..._

'Hey kid! Didn't you hear me? You owe us a toll for crossing this bridge, now pay up!'

Paul climbed off his bike, crossing his arms. 'They didn't mention anything about a toll when I hired this bike...' he replied carefully.

'Ha, the goody two shoes in the shop didn't mention us eh. He became too good to ride with us when he took over his father's shop. But that's right, we haven't introduced ourselves have we?' Around their leader, the rest of the gang smiled in anticipation.

Paul narrowed his eyes. 'My names P...'

The gang immediately erupted into laughter. 'You really think I care what your name is kid?' The biker interrupted laughing along with his gang.

To one side, a similarly aged girl stepped forward, also dressed in a small leather jacket and sported green hair, hanging low over her shoulders. 'Kid. When we say introductions, we mean pokemon battle. Unless you're to young to own any pokemon yet...' she finished scornfully. To Paul's front, the lead biker pulled out a pokeball, grinning widely.

_Let's just get this done, I'm wasting enough time as it is. _'Fine,' Paul replied, irritated. 'Make your best choice.'

The male biker laughed. 'Ha! The kids got attitude! You're gonna regret saying that... Go Golem!'

In a flash of light, a large boulder shaped pokemon appeared, stamping on the ground, staring at Paul with a similar expression to it's owner. Paul pulled out a pokeball and looked down at it briefly. _Time for a little redemption. You didn't fare too well in your last battle, wrap this up quickly and I'll forget about it._

'Now Torterra, standby...' he shouted, throwing his own pokeball out towards Golem. Immediately, shouts rose from either side as the biker gang started exclaiming excitably.

'Hey, whats that pokemon?'

'Dunno, never heard of it.'

'Isn't that one of them foreign pokemon?'

'Well, it ain't no Victreebel!'

'That's cheating, using a foreign pokemon!'

Paul creased an eyebrow, glancing around. _Pathetic... _In front of him, Torterra started growling quietly at the great rock type. Golem's trainer looked in shock at Paul's choice, before quickly laughing. 'Ha! It doesn't matter anyway. You wanna play with the big boys, then you and your wimpy foreign pokemon better be ready to deal with the consequences! Golem! Crush this kid!'

At his command, Golem lumbered forward, charging at Torterra. Paul ran a hand through his hair. _Tackle. Really? _It was clear to him who the real kids were.

'Torterra, energy ball.'

Immediately, the great grass type charged a ball of green energy in it's mouth, before firing it at Golem before the rock type had even crossed half the distance between them. The grass attack blew Golem backwards, sending it crashing into it's trainer. The biker howled as his pokemon came to a rest on top of him, eyes turning instantly to spirals.

'Golem get off me. Oh man, you weigh a ton!'

Paul stared at his opponent with disgust, before looking around aggressively. 'Any other takers...?' The purple-haired trainer asked quietly. The biker gang backed away slowly, the girl with green hair blinking rapidly, stunned into silence.

'Good.' Paul recalled his pokemon back into it's capsule. _Not bad Torterra. Although that wasn't exactly a test. _The pokemon trainer climbed back onto his bike and rode away quickly through a gap between two bikers, leaving the fainted Golem and the cries of it's trainer behind him.

* * *

Finally, the sun creeping ever closer to the horizon, Paul came to the end of the bridge, dismounting carefully off his bicycle as soon as he reached solid ground again. The countryside looked much the same as the one he'd left, a road branching off left, heading for Fuchsia. After handing back the bicycle and paying a elderly man in a small hut by the water side, Paul set off down the dusty lane, heading towards the city, anticipation mounting. He wouldn't bother staying at Fuchsia tonight. Instead he would go straight to the Pike, hopefully issuing his challenge before nightfall. _I should be able to, provided I'm quick... _Paul immediately lengthened his stride, picking up speed.

'Waahoo!'

Paul tensed up, listening hard to the sounds behind him. _Not again, surely?_

'Hey kid!'

The purple haired trainer span around. The gang from the cycle road were gaining on him rapidly, the lead biker his orange hair and a bruised face waving his hand angerily. 'Hey kid! You're gonna pay for attacking us like that!'

Paul bared his teeth, furious. _I attacked them...? _'Didn't you get enough last time?' he shouted.

'No way! I barely got started!' The biker shouted back, speeding towards Paul. The purple-haired trainer watched them approach with widened eyes. _They're not gonna stop... _Paul dived out of the way as the gang sped by, but the cyclists at the rear of the group swerved, intentionally running over one of the purple-haired trainer's ankles. Paul shouted out in pain, pulling himself to his feet using a nearby tree at the side of the road.

A dozen bikes sceeched to a halt again, the leader with orange hair leaping off his bike and marching towards Paul. Paul immediately reached down for a pokeball, his hand only just brushing against the spheres on his belt, before the biker shoved him hard in the chest, making him stumble backwards. 'So you think you're some sort of a big shot huh?' The biker demanded, shoving him back again. 'Think you can just battle me and get away with it huh?'

Paul winced as the next biker's shove forced him to put weight on his hurt ankle. 'Just leave me alone!' Temper getting the better of him, the purple-haired boy leapt forward at the biker, forgetting about his pokemon. The biker snarled as the he wrestled with trainer, before throwing him backwards again. One foot catching a tree root, Paul fell over backwards, his head snapping backwards, hitting something hard on the ground.

'Haha! Guess you're not so big after all huh?' The biker laughed, standing over him. Paul stared back, feeling sick, before his vision turned dark...

* * *

For the second time in a week, Paul struggled to open his eyes, his head pounding once more. The first thing he saw was the sky. The stars were out in full glory, the half crescent moon hanging low in the air. _What am I doing here? _Events of the previous day suddenly flew through his aching head. Paul sat up quickly, but the countryside to his front was completely deserted, deathly silent. Paul winced again, raising a hand up to his throbbing head. To his surprise, instead of hair, he could a feel a soft cotton material covering the back of his scalp. _A bandage? But who..._

'I wouldn't do that it I were you. At least if you don't want it to start bleeding again...'

Paul immediately span around. A fire crackled behind him, illuminating the vegetation closest to it. Next to the fire, a small blue tent was set up, camping equipment scattered around it's base. But Paul stared at the figure sat by the fire, arms hugging knees, eyes staring into the flames depth.

'Who are you?'

The figure looked up, staring back. 'So, how come you're in Kanto, Paul?' The girl asked.

* * *

**Chapter 15 won't be too long so you won't have to stay in suspense for too long haha. Please review if you have any comments cheers :)**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15 is here. You guess who the girl was? You probably did, think I gave too many hints... Anyway here's the next part, hope you like :)**

* * *

Paul stared at her in shock, holding his head in one hand. He knew her! She was the one at the pokemon center, he'd known he'd recognized something back there, but was unable to pinpoint what he had seen. But now that made sense, dozens more questions replaced the once answered.

'How...?'

Dawn stood up, an annoyed look on her face. 'I said, don't touch that bandage! I didn't spend half an hour patching you up, only for you to rip it off now mister!'

'You put this bandage on my...?

'Of course I did, who else would it be?' Behind Dawn, the tents suddenly rustled, then a small blue pokemon with a small beak and a plumb belly came running out, startled by the loud voices. Piplup ran to it's trainer's side, squeaking indignantly at Paul, puffing out it's chest. Dawn immediately bent over and picked up the penguin pokemon, holding it tight to her chest, still staring at Paul. 'So anyway, you never answered my question Paul,' she continued. 'Why are you in Kanto?'

Paul just stared straight back, silently. She looked exactly the same as the last time, back at the Sinnoh league. A white hat covered the top of her long blue hair, a blue and pink dress covered her body, ending near the top of her legs. On her feet large pink boots were laced tightly. And the pokemon she always had with her, Piplup, the blue water pokemon was held in her arms. But how had she followed him here? Paul jumped a little as Dawn suddenly lent closer to him.

'HELLO! I SAID WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN KANTO, PAUL! You know, I could have just left you at the side of the road, the least you can do is answer my question!' Dawn shouted. Piplup squeaked angrily at Paul, then cried shrilly at Dawn as it's mistress started squeezing a little tighter. 'Oh sorry Piplup!' Dawn apologized, dropping the penguin pokemon at her feet.

'Pip-luuppp,' Piplup scolded it's mistress as it landed on the ground before turning back to glare at Paul. Dawn mirrored her pokemon, hands on her hips, staring angrily at the purple-haired trainer sitting on the ground in front of her. Paul slowly sat up straight, looking back with calculating eyes.

'You were in Celadon.'

Dawn bristled in annoyance. She should have left him where she found him. 'Yeah I was, so what?'

'What were you doing there?' Paul demanded.

'Well if you must know, I was entering the contest there. Is that ok with you?' Dawn replied through clenched teeth.

Paul rubbed his eyes, comprehension dawning. _Of course, she's a coordinator, I remember now...But wait... _'But wait, you weren't alone were you, there was someone else...'

'That's right, I was with my friend Zoey, you remember her from Snowpoint. But now, are you going to finally answer me? What. Are. You. Doing. In. Kanto!' Dawn finished in a shout.

Paul stared at her a moment longer, then slouched down heavily. 'I'm here challenging the Battle Frontier.'

'Battle Frontier?' Dawn repeated slowly, confusion on her face. Paul sighed.

'Like pokemon gyms, only tougher. You do remember what pokemon gyms are don't you?'

Dawn immediately scowled back at Paul. 'Yes, I remember what pokemon gyms are, thank you very much,' the blue-haired coordinator yelled. 'Wait, Battle Frontier? Isn't that what Brandon was...'

'Yes.' Paul interrupted, cutting off the rest of her statement. Dawn stared at Paul, her blue eyes narrowing thoughtfully.

'So that means you're...'

'Yes.'

Dawn nodded slowly. 'In that case, I guess it's just unlucky we ran into each other,' she finished, a bitter note to her voice. 'Well I'm heading to Fuchsia city. You can stay here in my camp until morning if you like. I have food ready if you're hungry.' Dawn turned back and sat back down by the fireplace. Piplup ran back, following, and sat down by it's trainer, turning it's back to Paul in a huff. Paul sighed, running a hand over his bandage, checking it and surprised to find it had been well fitted. 'And you're welcome by the way, for that,' Dawn muttered loudly, gesturing towards his head.

'Right.' Paul looked around, trying to get a grip on his location. A few hundred meters to his right, he could just see the road he had traveled on briefly yesterday, before being attacked. 'Well no thanks. I'll just be on my way.'

Dawn muttered a barley audible 'whatever.' Paul slowly stood up, then fell back down with a grimace. The coordinator looked over, a slight look of concern passing briefly over her angry face. Paul gripped his foot in pain.

'What's...?'

'My ankle. It's hurt.'

Dawn sighed heavily, then with a face that seemed to be steeling itself to do something deeply unpleasant, walked back over to Paul. 'Hey, what the...?' Paul started, shocked as Dawn suddenly grabbed one of his arms and pulled it over her shoulders, supporting his weight.

'Well, clearly you're not going anywhere tonight. And It's warmest by the fire,' Dawn answered, dragging him forwards. 'There,' she finished, dumping him, not too gently, on the ground near the crackling flames. The blue-haired coordinator then walked to it's opposite side and sat back down, still watching him carefully.

'So...'

'So where's you're friend then?' Paul asked, closing his eyes and leaning closer to the fire.

'Zoey? She had to go back to Sinnoh. Something about a problem with this year's festival. I guess being top coordinator is more work than it sounds,' Dawn finished sadly. 'Still, she said she'd be back for the Kanto Grand Festival, so no need to worry,' the coordinator quickly added in a slightly upbeat tone.

'Right.' Paul replied massaging his ankle. Dawn followed his movements with her blue eyes.

'So how did you...'

'It doesn't matter.'

'Hey! I think I deserve to know. I did bandage your head up, you know...'

'Fine!' Paul exclaimed, a small note of annoyance creeping into his voice. 'I beat some punks on the road in a battle. They weren't too happy about it so they came after me. Happy?'

Dawn stared at him with wide eyes. On the ground next to her, Piplub continued to pretend to ignore Paul, it's head slightly angled to one side in order to better hear what was being said behind it. 'You mean they attacked you? That's really serious! We should report them right away, there bound to be a Officer Jenny in Fuc...'

'It's fine...' Paul interrupted quickly.

''But you can't just...'

'I said it's fine.' Paul repeated firmly. 'I am not wasting any more time over this.' With that, the purple-haired trainer lent backwards, resting on the ground and closed his eyes. Dawn stared at him, her face growing redder with anger.

'Ok then. Fine. Don't know why I care anyway. I'll see you in the morning then. Paul.' With that the blue-haired girl immediately span around and disappeared inside the blue tent. Piplup jumped around, looking after it's trainer, then staring at Paul.

'Pippp-luuppp...' The penguin pokemon squeaked, drawing a deep breath.

'Don't bother Piplup.' A voice called out from the tent opening. 'He's so not worth the effort.'

Piplup let out it's breath indignantly, swallowing down the half-formed bubblebeam in it's throat, them ran after Dawn, disappearing inside the tent opening.

* * *

Paul woke up as the sun glanced across the horizon, hitting his face. The purple-haired trainer sat up, feeling the back of his head. The pain had gone, only the bandage and the memories of yesterday remained. _And speaking of yesterday. _Paul stared at the blue tent, still completely silent. He still couldn't believe he had run into her here of all places. Paul shook his head wearily. It was time to get moving. And better do it now and avoid all her questions again. Paul stretched his legs then slowly stood up. His ankle still hurt, but now it would at least take his weight. Still it was very painful. Paul began to hobble a few steps towards the road, then stopped grimacing. He couldn't waste another whole day waiting to heal. _But whats the alternative? Unless I ride on one of my pokemon... _Paul considered it briefly, then rejected the idea, disliking the thought of having to rely on something else to move. And besides, there was no way he could challenge the Battle Pike while sat on Torterra's back, he'd be a laughing stock. Paul sighed, running a hand through his hair. Well, if he had to spend a day in the country getting better, then he could at least spend it training his pokemon. Turning around, Paul began to hobble his way towards a clearing, just beyond the makeshift camp.

* * *

The sun was had already nearly reached the center of the blue sky, when the tent flaps began to rustle. Dawn poked her head out, her hair perfectly groomed. Below her, Piplup poked it's head out as well, both trainer and pokemon scanning the area to their front. Dawn made a small noise of satisfaction as she took in the empty camp. _Hmph. Paul must have cleared off early. Well good riddance. And the next time he gets into trouble, I'm just going to leave him where I find him. _Both Piplup and it's trainer emerged into the outdoors. 'Ok Piplup. Time for some breakfast, what do you think?'

'Pippp-lup,' the small water pokemon cried back happily.

Reaching back into the tent, Dawn pulled out her supply of pokemon food and poured some into a bluish bowl for her pokemon to eat. As the penguin pokemon tucked in happily, she began to take down the tent, still deep in thought. _Still, I can't believe I ran into him here of all places. Suppose it was just bad luck. Well for me anyway, good luck for him... _Dawn shuddered as she remembered coming across the unconscious boy late yesterday evening, blood seeping out from the back of his head. _I helped him out, and he wasn't even grateful! I would have thought he would have gotten better after losing to Ash in Sinnoh, but I guess he's just the same as ever. _Pushing the last of the tent pegs into a spare pocket of space in her backpack, Dawn turned around, looking for her pokemon. Piplup stood right behind her, holding up it's empty bowl with a pleased expression on it's face.

'Wow Piplup, you ate all that food by yourself!' Dawn exclaimed, feigning surprise. 'I'm going to have to start feeding you less, or you're going to start getting fat!' Piplup immediately took on a look of indignantly, huffing and blowing a few bubbles at her face. Dawn laughed, waving them away.'I'm only joking Piplup, you eat as much as you want, we can't have you going hungry now can we?' Dawn gave her starter pokemon a small wink as she took the bowl back.

'Luppp,' Piplup stated, giving a small nod of agreement. Dawn laughed again as she pulled her backpack onto her back.

'So then, let's go!'

'Pipp-lup.'

The pair turned to walk away towards the path, when suddenly a powerful flamethrower erupted into the sky, a hundred meters to their rear. _What on earth? _Dawn turned to stare in the direction of the fire, Piplup mirroring her. A loud roar followed, echoing through the trees.

'Pip-lup?'

Dawn glanced down, then nodded. 'Yeah ok Piplup. Let's go check it out.'

* * *

'Charmeleon, flamethrower and hold the stream for ten seconds this time,' Paul commanded. His pokemon, the smallish red pokemon with a fiery tail, Charmeleon, fired another fire attack at Electivire. The yellow electric type immediately created a greenish shield, encasing and protecting it from harm as the fire attack pushed it backwards. Charmeleon growled as it struggled to maintain the fire emitting from it's mouth for the ordered time.

'Now Charmeleon, let's see dragon rage, like I taught you.' The fire pokemon stopped it's fire attack, breathing heavily, then opened it's jaws wide again, this time forming a orange ball of glowing energy in its mouth. Paul watched with an evaluating eye as the attack shot out at his electric pokemon, Electivire protecting itself once again. Paul was pushing the fire type hard. It was gaining strength quickly, already looking twice as strong as it had done against Noland, but was still not on par with his other pokemon. And if the next frontier battle required him to use a fire type, he needed Charmeleon in top shape. 'Charmeleon, this is no time to start resting. Show me inferno, now.'

Charmeleon wearily stood tall, growling, then put it's paws together in front of it's face, forming a powerful concentrated ball of bluish fire from the flames coming from it's mouth. 'Chhaarrr!' The fire pokemon roared as it fired the attack at Electivire. The Electric pokemon protected itself once again as the attack made contact. The green shield held briefly, then dissipated suddenly, causing the flames to crash into the stunned thunderbolt pokemon, sending it tumbling. Paul half grinned as he watched his pokemon fly backwards. Maybe Charmeleon would be ready after all. He returned his gaze to the flame pokemon, Charmeleon staring back with it's jaw held high, waiting for it's trainer to speak.

'Your dragon rage still needs work. If you can hold it for a little longer in your jaws, it will be a lot more powerful. And we need to improve your stamina. Other than that, not a bad training session. Return now.' Charmeleon disappeared inside it's capsule. 'And you...' Paul began, turning to his Electivire. 'I better not see anything else get through your shield again, do you understand?' The purple-haired trainer admonished sternly. The thunderbolt pokemon nodded slowly, looking at the ground. 'Good. Don't let it happen again. Electivire return.' The electric pokemon turned to red light, before zipping back to the ball in Paul's hand. The purple-haired trainer placed them both back on his belt, lost in his thoughts.

'How can you be so mean to them?'

Paul started, then looked around, seeing Dawn stood at the edge of the small clearing. The blue-haired coordinator crossed her arms, looking at him with dislike. 'You're pokemon were trying so hard to please you, and you didn't even thank them!'

'It's because I don't thank them, that they're so strong. They keep trying to better themselves, rather than remaining satisfied at the level they're at. That's how a real trainer raises pokemon.' Paul finished, turning away.

'Ahem, excuse me! Aren't we forgetting something mister? I seem to remember a certain someone with completely different training style, who loved and cared for his pokemon beyond anything else, a certain someone who happened to beat you at the Sinnoh league remember?'

Paul growled quietly. He'd wondered how long it would take before that trainer was brought up. 'That was a fluke...'

'Yeah. Right.' Dawn answered skeptically.

'Luppp,' her pokemon agreed, stood next to her legs.

Paul sighed, then turned around, beginning to hobble back to the campsite. 'So, where is he anyway?' He asked in spite of himself. 'I thought you were travelling with him.'

Dawn sighed, the dislike fading from her face. 'Not anymore. After Sinnoh, we went our separate ways. I saw Ash fairly recently though, over in Unova. He seemed to be doing well.'

'Unova!'

'Yeah. it a region over the...'

'I know where it is thanks,' Paul replied scornfully, hiding his surprise quickly. _Unova! That's nearly the other side of the world! _Paul knew little about the far away region, but knew it was rumored to contain pokemon never seen in any of the other regions. _Ash must be after some of those pokemon to become even stronger, that's the only reason he would travel that far away... _Paul concluded thoughtfully.

'So why are you still here?' Dawn demanded, her arms on her hips.

'Luppp, Pip-lup?'

Paul glanced back at her, irritated. 'My ankle, I can't walk far on it.'

Dawn glanced down at Paul's foot, then back up, a scowl on her face. 'Well good. After the way you treat your pokemon, you deserve it. I hope it never gets better. I've a good mind to leave you here.'

Paul snarled angrily, losing his patience. 'Then go! Please, be my guest!'

'Fine!' Dawn yelled back, her white hat falling off and landing on Piplup. 'Come on Piplup, we're going!'

'Lupp?' Piplup cried confused as it frantically pulled the hat off it's head. 'Pip-luuppp!' The penguin pokemon cried out as it chased after it's mistress marching back towards the road, carrying her hat in it's small arms.

* * *

Dawn stormed down the road, the campsite disappearing into the distance behind her, her pokemon sweating heavily as it struggled to keep up. _That rude, selfish, inconsiderate, mean, horrible boy! Why, why did I even help him in the first place? If I could go back in time, there's no way I would help him again. _Dawn sighed, slowing down, Piplup crying in relief. _No that's not true. I'm glad I helped him, even if he's the meanest boy I've ever met. I just hope I don't run into him again. _Dawn bent over, scooping up her pokemon as she walked, the water type's panting beginning to slow down. Just over the next hill and she should be coming close to Fuchsia., After that, it would be a short ferry ride to Potpourri island, home to Wisteria town and her next contest. A win there and she could finally enter the Kanto Grand Festival. Dawn smiled in anticipation as she crested the hill in front of her and looked down at the cluster of old fashioned buildings that made up Fuchsia city.

'Yeehaa!'

Dawn jumped, hearing a wild shout behind her. The blue-haired coordinator turned around quickly, looking for it's source. A large group of cyclists rode up the hill toward her, all cheering and pumping their arms in the air. Dawn cried out in surprise and fear as she suddenly found herself surrounded. The oldest of the men got of his bicycle in front of her, his orange hair sticking up wildly.

'Hey there little girl! It's fifty dollars if you want to walk along our path like that. Now pay up or we'll turn your cute little pokemon into fish food.'

Dawn gasped angrily. 'How dare you threaten my pokemon!' Piplup immediately puffed out it's chest and leapt from it's trainer's arms, jumping up and down, furious. The biker gang immediately burst into laughter at the sight of the small penguin pokemon. A girl with green hair stepped forward. 'Looks like the little pipsqueak want to battle... Well i'll grant it's wish, Cloyster go!'

With a flash, the shellder evolution appeared, the dark head inside the shell leering down at Piplup. Piplup jumped, startled, then puffed it's chest out angrily again and charged forward, it's beak glowing bright white.

'Hpmh. Cloyster withdraw.' The bivalve pokemon immediately closed it's shell, Piplup's peck attack glanced off it harmlessly. 'Now Cloyster, clamp it down!' Cloyster opened it's shell once more then closed it on the penguin pokemon's head, holding it in place. Piplup cried out in pain as the large water pokemon began to apply more pressure.

'No, Piplup!' Dawn cried out in panic, reaching for another pokeball. Her hands however, were quickly grabbed from behind by another biker, holding her firmly in place. The leader walked forward grinning.

'Now little girl, let's see what you have in that backpack of yours...'

* * *

A sudden beam of white light shot through the trees to the group's right, hitting the man with orange hair. The biker gasped as he looked down watching his legs rapidly freeze in place from the ice beam. 'What the...'

Suddenly a group of widely different pokemon burst from the cover of the tree line. A orange flame pokemon reached the group first, firing forward like a canon ball, headbutting the biker holding Dawn directly in the stomach, sending him spinning away. Next was a huge purple monster with a horn on it's head, the poison type barreling through the ring of cyclists to reach Cloyster. Roaring with the effort, the pokemon prized the bivalve pokemon's shell apart, Piplup crying with relief as it fell to the ground. The green-haired girl shouted in panic, before turning to run, only to be ensnared by a dozen or so barbed vines erupting from the earth. Dawn looked about her in shock, picking up her pokemon, before a jet of water hit her in the side, sending her tumbling off to one side, away from the gang. Dawn pushed herself upright, brushing her hair from her face as she looked up just in time to see a large yellow electric pokemon land with a crash right in front of her, facing the gang. The thunderbolt pokemon growled it's name before lighting up the whole area with a powerful electric attack. The bikers screamed as the thunder attack hit them, then ran away in all directions, leaving their charred bicycles, their leader still half encased in ice and the green haired girl, struggling against the vines holding her in place. Cloyster lay on it's side, groaning as residual electricity danced across it's shell.

* * *

Dawn stared at the scene with wide eyes, then jumped a little as a purple-haired boy walked out from the tree line. Paul strode towards the gang leader, no trace of a limp in his step, before gripping him by the collar.

'If I ever see you again, I will personally make sure you are never able to ride another bike again.' Paul muttered menacing, too quiet for anyone else to hear, his face almost touching the biker's. The orange-haired man stared back with fearful, wide eyes, nodding quickly. 'You've seen exactly what I'm capable of now. Don't doubt me,' Paul finished, before turning away.

'Paul?' Dawn slowly got to her feet, looking at the pokemon trainer., Paul glanced at the coordinator, before looking round at his entire team.

'Good work.' With that, he recalled all six, the green haired girl falling back to the ground as Torterra disappeared. The biker girl quickly ran off, abandoning her defeated Cloyster.

'Paul.' Dawn walked up to he purple-haired boy, staring at him. 'Um thanks...'

Paul nodded once. 'I owed them one.'

'Yeah, but you didn't have to help me...' Dawn glanced down at his leg. 'Isn't your ankle hurting?'

Paul looked down as well, surprise crossing his face. 'Guess I forgot about it. I saw the gang pass by heading up the road towards you... It must be healing quicker than I thought.'

Dawn looked back at him for a long moment, then walked back picking up Piplup. The water type shook it's head, then gave her an affectionate nip on the cheek.

'Er Dawn?'

The blue-haired coordinator looked back quickly.

'Thanks. You know, for that.' Paul finished awkwardly, gesturing towards his bandaged head. Dawn looked at him, then smiled. _Maybe not as mean as I thought..._

'No need to worry.' Dawn looked back to Fuchsia city in the darkening horizon. 'So you heading for the city?'

'Yes.'

'Mind if I join you?'

'I don't mind.'

The blue-haired coordinator ran forward, catching up with the pokemon trainer as they set off towards their next destination.

* * *

**Hope you liked this chapter. I'd just like to state though, I'm not planning on trying to make this story into a romance, there's already too many fics out there about Paul and Dawn, I just wanted a travelling companion for Paul for a couple of chapters and maybe as a recurring character later on, that's all for now. Anyway let me know what you think and please review if you have any views, cheers :)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hey, chapter 16 is up and running. I hope you enjoy it :)**

* * *

Paul marched past the clusters of houses, dotted at random all around the immediate area. The rooftops of the buildings where all thatched, the walls built out of old stone. The purple-haired trainer glanced around as he walked. Fuchsia city was well known for being a old fashioned town in the wilderness, in fact before the opening of the world renowned Safari Zone, the city had been more of a small town, visited only by the few trainers after the town's badge. Fuchsia had grown with the tourism since, but had kept it's oldish look, it's residents determined to maintain it's character despite the modern age. Still, wherever the trainer looked, he could see signs of the changing times. Old water wells lay unused, overgrown with vegetation, power-lines spread out like a spider web, giving each house electricity, the sounds of television blaring from an open window. No matter how hard a person tried to deny it, time would eventually change everything. And it was always better to move with the change, than fight a pointless battle against it, Paul thought.

'Hey Paul, are we going to the pokemon center? I think Piplup needs a check up.'

Paul sighed and glanced behind him. A blue-haired girl with a short pink skirt and high boots walked closely behind, her eyes looking down at her pokemon with worried eyes, a hand rubbing it's head. Paul turned back forward, shaking his head slightly, exasperated. There was nothing wrong with her piplup, in fact the pokemon was clearly milking the aftermath of it's recent battle with Cloyster, enjoying the attention Dawn was giving it. 'We're heading there now. It's on the other side of the zoo, near the water.'

'Oh good. Thanks Paul, I'm just a little concerned about Piplup that's all. You know, he acts tough, but I don't know what I'd do if he got hurt, better to be same than sorry...' As Paul glanced back at her again, the coordinator flashed him a quick smile, before returning her attention on her starter. Paul rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath.

The sun danced around the horizon, trying to bring another day to a close. The city was fairly quiet, with the lack of proper roads, cars were not that common. Paul strode down the hill towards the southern edge of the city, trying to remember where the pokemon center had been the last time he'd been here. Ahead, Kanto's southern sea stretched out into the distance. Paul's eyes narrowed as he spotted large thunderclouds far on the horizon. All going well, he would be crossing that sea in a matter of days to reach the Battle Palace. He'd have to keep an eye on the weather. Returning his gaze to ground level, the purple-haired trainer spotted a large building, the only modern-looking one around, with a large P on it's roof.

_Finally! _

Silently, Paul raised one hand, pointing ahead. Behind him, Dawn gave a cry of joy, then ran past him, heading for the red and pink colored building. Paul sighed, running a hand through his hair as he watched her go.

He didn't know how much more he could handle of his current companion. Despite the fact that the pair had only spent the small hours of the afternoon and evening travelling together, Paul had already begun to get irritated. Dawn had talked nonstop since the battle with the biker gang. Paul had tried to remain more or less silent through the whole trip, hoping she would do the same, only responding with a odd word here and there when she demanded it. This however didn't seem to faze the young coordinator, in fact it had only made her talk even more, about her contest in Celadon, about her up and coming contest on Potpourri, about her family back home, about how she had been working on new combinations to show off using her Mamoswine and Togekiss. Paul was used to travelling alone, with only his inner thoughts as company, whereas Dawn was clearly used to having talkative companions. _Well it doesn't matter. After we get to the center, we'll both be going our separate ways. What I really need to concentrate on right now is the Battle Pike. _Paul began to ponder which pokemon he would use tomorrow, and whether to switch any with Reggie beforehand as he walked through the sliding doors.

* * *

'Your Piplup is fine dear, theres only a few bruises on it's head, a days rest and it will be good as new.' Nurse Joy said, smiling down at the blue-haired girl on the other side of the counter.

'Oh thank you Nurse Joy. I was really worried.' Dawn replied happily, picking up her pokemon from the counter. 'Piplup, you're really tough to be ok after an attack like that, aren't you?'

'Lupp,' the penguin pokemon confirmed from her arms, giving a small nod. Nurse Joy laughed.

'Well it's always nice to see a trainer who cares deeply about her pokemon.'

Dawn smiled, then turned to look at the trainer approaching the counter behind her. 'Hey Paul, Piplup's fine, isn't it great?'

_I could have told you that hours ago..._Paul thought silently. Here was a classic example of what happened when you spoiled your pokemon. 'Yeah. Great,' he muttered in reply. Dawn's face hardened in annoyance. Paul turned to Nurse Joy. 'I need directions to the Battle Pike.'

'Oh wow, the Battle Pike? We don't get many trainers coming here for that.' Nurse Joy pressed a finger to her cheek thinking hard. 'Well it's north of the city. The fastest way I suppose would be to simply travel through the Safari Zone, it's only on the other side.'

Paul gave a small nod. 'Thank you. And If I could get a room..?'

Yeah I need a room too, my ferry isn't till the morning!' Dawn immediately piped up behind him. Nurse Joy gave a little bow, smiling, then pointed to a staircase off to the left side of the room.

'Certainly! Rooms for trainers are on the second floor. Have a good night.'

'Thanks.'

'Thank you very much Nurse Joy!'

The blue-haired coordinator ran over to the staircase then looked over her shoulder at Paul, her foot on the first step. 'Hey Paul, aren't you coming up?'

Paul shook his head looking over to the videophones over to one side. 'You go ahead. I need to make a call.' Dawn stared at him for a moment, then shrugged, running up the staircase with her pokemon in her hands.

* * *

Paul strode over to the videophones and sat by the nearest one, his hand typing out a familiar number. After a brief wait, the screen lit up, showing a older boy with dark blue hair wearing a light blue apron.

'Hey Paul, hows it going? You haven't rung in a while...' Reggie exclaimed.

'I've been busy. And I ran into a little trouble on the road.'

'You ok?'

'I'm fine. There's no need to worry.' Paul winced, the phase leaving his mouth before he could snatch it back. _I defiantly need to get away from Dawn..._

'Ok then, good. Hey Paul, I heard from Scott a couple of days ago... Not a bad effort at all, getting the guts symbol. I remember when I myself hobbled out of that dojo, my pokemon barely intact, but according to Scott, you handled yourself very well, nice work.'

'Thanks.'

'So where are you now? Celadon?'

'No, Fuchsia. And I'm going to the Battle Pike tomorrow,' Paul replied. 'I want to switch a few pokemon before I go though.'

'Sure thing Paul. Good luck with the Pike Queen, Lucy's tough. If I remember correctly, she has a Seviper with a mean poison tail, watch out for it.'

'No problem.' _Seviper... a poison type... What I really need is a steel type then. _'Reggie, I need you to send me back Aggron.'

Reggie nodded. 'Good idea. Aggron has really been training hard since you sent it back, it's almost like it feels ashamed of something. I'm sure it'l be eager to battle again. You want anyone else sending back as well?'

'Hey Reggie!'

Paul jumped as a shrill voice sounded behind him. Through the screen, Reggie stared past Paul over his shoulder, a startled look on his face. 'Dawn? Is that you? What are you doing there?'

Dawn pushed past Paul, beaming at the video screen. 'I'm here competing in the Kanto contests! I ran into Paul on the road to Fuchsia, and we thought it would be nice to travel here together!'

Reggie returned is gaze to his brother, fighting back a grin as Paul immediately face-palmed. 'Is that so... Well it's great to see you again.'

'You too!'

Piplub ran up from behind Paul and jumped in front of the screen. 'Luppp, pip-lup!'

'And it's great to see you too, Piplup.'

Paul turned an annoyed look at the girl leaning over his shoulder. 'I thought you went to bed?'

'I did. But I left my backpack downstairs so I came back to collect it. Is that ok with you, grumpy?' Dawn asked, frowning down at Paul.

'Whatever...'

Dawn turned back to Reggie, who was struggling to keep his face straight. 'Well, it was good to say hi, I'll leave you guys to it. Seeya later Reggie!'

'See you Dawn.' Reggie watched as Dawn disappeared up a staircase at the far side of the room, her water pokemon quickly following, then turned back to Paul. 'Er, so. How exactly...?'

'Don't ask,' Paul replied wearily, running a hand through his hair.

'Right.'

'Anyway...erm...'

'So what pokemon do you want to swap?' Reggie asked, reminding his younger sibling.

Paul gave himself a little shake, focusing back on the task at hand. 'I'm sending you back these...' the purple-haired trainer stated, holding up two pokeballs. 'And I want you to send me Aggron and...'

* * *

Dawn entered her room, a floor above and closed the door quietly behind her. Piplup ran forward, already picking it's spot at the foot of the bed. Dawn smiled briefly at the sight of her pokemon relaxing, then stared out the window. There was little to be seen in the darkness of the night sky, but Dawn could hear the pattering of rain hitting the glass, slowly getting stronger. The coordinator gasped as a flash of lighting suddenly lit up the horizon in the far distance over the sea. 'Wow, it looks pretty bad Piplup,' Dawn muttered quietly.

'Luppp,' Her pokemon replied sleepily from the bed, it's eyes closed. Dawn looked out of the window a moment longer, before sighing and climbing into her bed. Her ferry to her next contest was early in the morning, she needed the sleep. And with any luck, she would be able to leave without the purple-haired trainer noticing. Apart from his rescue of her from the biker gang, Paul hadn't exactly been the best of companions, Dawn had had to force the conversation all day between the pair. _We'll be better off by ourselves, won't we Piplup... _the coordinator thought, drifting off into a deep sleep.

* * *

Paul walked down the staircase the following morning quickly, jumping the last three steps. He was eager to be off, the Battle Pike was only a few hours walk away, north over easy going country. By all odds, Paul would have his fourth frontier symbol by lunchtime. The purple-haired trainer turned towards the center doors with determination in his step, coming to a abrupt halt as the automatic doors slid open.

_Great._

Outside the wind howled, rain flying almost horizontally in front of him. Trees bent over double in the hurricane strength gusts, on the road in front of the center, Paul could see debris flying everywhere. Up in the sky, the sun fought a losing battle, trying to penetrate the thick, dark, flashing clouds. Paul gritted his teeth, irritated. What was it with the stupid weather always holding him up? _Well fine then. You didn't stop me before, you won't this time either! _Paul zipped his coat right up to his chin and prepared to dive into the storm.

'My my. Talk about a rough day...'

Paul paused, about to step forward. _For such a big guy, he seems to sneak up on me pretty well... _The purple-haired trainer span round to face the frontier guide, stood a few feet behind him. Scott continued to look over his head, up at the dark clouds. 'It's strange... I've never known it to be this bad before. And it's the same thing happening all over Kanto's seas. That weather doesn't seem natural...' Scott trailed off, still looking outside.

'Ahem.' Paul cleared his throat.

The over-weight man jumped a little, then looked down at the young pokemon trainer, a wide smile appearing on his face. 'Hey there Paul my boy. You ready for your next frontier battler? Hope you got a strategy in mind, after that last battle, its good to keep the ball rolling in the right direction so to speak...'

'Yeah, sure,' Paul replied dismissively. 'I was on my way now.' The trainer turned back to face the outdoors again.

'Well rather you than me kiddo, I wouldn't want to go anywhere in that weather. Why not chill here a little and wait for it to pass?'

'There's no point. Sooner I go, sooner I can have my battle.' Paul stepped forward into the howling winds when suddenly a young girl came running in the opposite direction, back into the center with her head down against the storm. The two collided, the blue-haired girl's momentum knocking them both back indoors.

'Hey watch out,' Scott chuckled at the sight of the two young trainers laid in a tangled heap on the floor. Paul quickly pushed himself back to his feet, brushing the dust off his jacket, looking down at the all too familiar girl.

'Why don't you watch where you're running?'

Dawn picked herself up angrily, her hair plastered to her face from all the rain. 'Hey, I didn't mean to run into you, I was trying to get out of the weather!' Dawn pulled her hair away from her face, peering through it at the two people stood in front of her. 'Oh it's you!'

'Who else?' Paul replied.

Suddenly a small water type ran through the doors after the girl, squeaking happily. Unlike it's trainer, Piplup seemed to be enjoying the rain, dancing happily at her feet. Dawn pulled her soaking white hat off her head and began to wring it dry, water splashing on the floor of the pokemon center. 'Well I'm really sorry Paul. I do hope you'l find it in the goodness of your heart to forgive me,' Dawn said sarcastically.

'My my, so you two know each other then?' Scott asked, amused at the scene in front of him.

'Something like that...' Paul muttered. Dawn shot him a glare, before smiling at Scott, holding out her hand.

'My name's Dawn. And this is my partner Piplup.' Dawn motioned to the blue pokemon at her feet with her other hand. 'It's a pleasure to meet you!'

'Pleasures all mine.' Scott replied, shaking her hand and smiling widely back. 'Name's Scott. And I'm the guide to the Battle Frontier!' He finished, adjusting his sunglasses.

Dawn did a little gasp. 'You're Scott! I remember, Ash mentioned you when he used to talk about the Battle Frontier.'

Scott stared back, startled. 'You know Ash?'

'Well yeah of course, we traveled together in Sin...'

'What were you doing out there?' Paul interrupted loudly. Dawn closed her mouth mid-sentence and turned to frown at Paul.

'Well for your information, I was out there, trying to catch my ferry to my next contest. But, it turns out the ferries are all canceled until his storm blows over,' she finished on a sad note.

'Lupp.' Piplup hung it's head at her feet.

Paul stared at her for a moment, before returning his gaze to the outdoors. 'Well, I'm not surprised...' he muttered under his breath. 'Now excuse me, I have to get moving.' Paul made to brush past the blue-haired coordinator.

'Hey, where are you going?' Dawn called after him. Paul ignored the question, disappearing into the storm outside.

* * *

Scott chuckled, staring after him. 'That Paul... he doesn't like to wait does he? Suppose I should drive up the the Pike then.'

Dawn looked up at Scott, a confused look in her eyes. 'Pike?'

'Yeah, the Battle Pike, one of the seven facilities of the Battle Frontier. And the location of Paul's next frontier battle.'

Dawn made a small noise of comprehension, then sighed, looking back into the pokemon center behind her. 'Well I guess I'm stuck here then for another day...'

Scott looked down at the blue-haired girl below him, a smile growing on his face once more. 'Hey Dawn, why don't you come and watch? You can help cheer on Paul with me.'

Dawn made a amused sound in her throat. 'Somehow, I don't think Paul wants me there cheering him on...'

'U'd be surprised, these battles can be pretty tough. And Paul hasn't had many people in his corner in his last few bouts. Besides, you did say you'd be stuck here another day, didn't you? Why not spend it watching what's sure to be a good battle?' Scott concluded. 'I'll even give you a lift up there if you want...'

Dawn sighed, looking down at her blue pokemon at her feet, before reaching down and picking it back up. 'I suppose so. As you said, I am stuck here for another day at least, doing nothing. But Paul might not be too happy to see me there.'

'I'm sure he'l be glad you came,' Scott replied, smiling widely. 'So, you ready to go?'

'Yeah sure. No wait, two minutes.' Dawn suddenly shot off, back up the stairs leading to her room, Scott watched her go with a confused expression on his face.

* * *

Several hours later, Paul pushed though the final barrier of trees and vegetation to catch his first sight of the Battle Pike. At first sight, the entrance looked like the giant open mouth of a Seviper, as Paul approached it, he could see the rest of the building snaking out from behind it after the fashion of Seviper's long body. Paul shook his head, Reggie was right, this frontier brain clearly had a Seviper on her team.

The weather still rushed by, as bad as ever. The surrounding woodland was almost bent double, branches were being ripped from their trees, any loose dirt kicked in the air. _This is even worse than last time... What's causing such a storm? _Paul wondered furiously. As he came within the last few yards of the serpent's mouth, it's tongue suddenly moved to the roof of it's mouth, revealing a small doorway. A blonde-haired women suddenly appeared out of the opening ahead, Paul couldn't hear what the women was shouting above the howling wind, but she was gesturing frantically for him to get inside. Summoning the remainder of his strength, Paul ran the last few meters, crossing the threshold and entering the building with relief.

'Are you insane?'

Paul looked up at the blonde women pulling the door down shut, before turning around and glaring down at him. 'What on earth are you doing outside in this weather?'

Paul stared back at her, then looked around, taking in his surroundings. 'I'm here for a battle with Lucy.' The women rolled her eyes at him.

'Well duh. But it really couldn't have waited a day or two? And that's Pike Queen Lucy to you kid!'

'Yeah whatever...And no it couldn't.' Paul answered, waving a dismissive hand, then using it to wipe the rain water from his face.

* * *

The pair were stood in a long corridor, red curtains hung from the walls, a long red carpet lay on the orange floor, leading away from Paul to a pair of large oak doors at the far end of the room. On the ceiling, several chandeliers hung, tickling softly, the wind from the outside having set them moving. The women started at him a moment longer, then grunted in annoyance. 'Well I guess I better take you to Pike Queen Lucy then. Although I wouldn't be surprised if she throws you back out again for turning up in this weather...We'd didn't expect anyone to come today.'

The blonde haired girl continued to moan quietly as she led the way down the corridor, Paul following silently behind. His guide reached the doors at the end of the room and threw them open, walking through. Paul quickly followed, stifling a small gasp as he took in the battlefield in front of him. The arena was standard enough. Two podiums stood at either end for the trainers to stand on, stands rose up at an angle around the edge for spectators. But what commanded Paul's attention was the battlefield between the two podiums. Vegetation grew wild in patches over the ground, covering any bare earth. Even a couple of trees were dotted randomly. Breaking up the greenery, a river split the battlefield into two separate pieces. Paul scanned it with wide eyes. This was clearly a field designed to be advantageous to almost any type, if used correctly. Ideas flying through his head, Paul looked about for the blonde-haired women, but she had disappeared without a trace. The purple-haired trainer took a seat by the edge of the arena waiting, still thinking hard.

Suddenly a door at the other end of the arena opened. Paul raised his head, eyes narrowing. Stood in the doorway was a tall women with long black hair. A purple top covered her upper body, ending just above her stomach. Similar colored arm bands covered her forearms. The women began to walk around the edge of the arena, locking eyes with Paul. Following her were three women, one of them the blonde that had met Paul by the door. Paul slowly got to his feet, watching with a careful gaze as the women halted right in front of him. A pair of red eyes took in the purple-haired trainer, before the women opened her mouth to speak.

'So you must be my challenger. I am the Frontier Brain of the Battle Pike, Lucy,' the women said in a rich, haughty tone

Paul nodded at her slightly. 'My name is Paul from Veilstone City. And I'd like to challenge you to a battle, Lucy.'

The blonde behind Lucy immediately jumped forward shouting. 'Hey, that's Pike Queen Lucy to you kid!' The Pike Queen held up a hand, silencing her as she continued to observe Paul with a expressionless face.

'I hope you excuse my sister, Barbara. She still doesn't know how to treat our guests properly.' Lucy stared at Paul a little longer, before averting her gaze and closing her eyes. 'I didn't expect you to come in this weather though...'

'Well I did.' Paul answered quickly. 'And now, I want to battle you for your frontier symbol, Lucy.'

'Queen Lucy! That's Queen Lu...' The Pike Queen cut of her sister with a stern look, then returned her gaze to Paul.

'Well since you made so much effort to come, then I can't deny you your wish. Are you ready Paul?'

Paul stared back, his eyes narrowing, one hand fingering the pokeballs at his waist.

'Whenever you are, Pike Queen...'

* * *

**So, Paul finally reaches his fourth frontier battle. Please review if you liked the chapter, till next time... :)**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17 and Paul is about to take on the Pike Queen. Hope you enjoy... (and yeah fair one Nauran, mis-spelling Piplup's name was a bit stupid, think I've corrected all my mistakes though sorry ;). I'm still fairly new to this so no doubt I'l make more like it down the line, let me know if you spot anymore)**

* * *

The car bounced all over the road as Scott drove at full speed through the wind and rain, the two seat convertible struggling to find grip on the soaked tarmac. Dawn gripped the handle on the inside of her door, her knuckles glowing white from the pressure she was applying. 'Er Scott...?' She squeaked. Scott glanced to his side, looking at the passenger in the seat next to him, a small blue pokemon holding her leg in a death-grip down by the foot-well.

'Uh huh?'

'Could you maybe slow down, just a teensy bit?' Dawn cried out as the car suddenly cut off road, jumping between two trees with inches to spare.

'No can do, little lady. I think we're gonna be late as it is. You took, let's just say, a little longer than I expected in the pokemon center...'

'Yeah, well, sorry my hair was a total mess after all that rain. Woah!' The blue-haired coordinator cried out again as Scott wrenched the car left and right, dodging herds of surprised tauros.

'He he, sorry about that, didn't expect them to be out in this weather. But this is a short-cut, just a little further...

'Pippp-luuupppp!' Piplup screamed out from down below as the car took another violent turn.

The red sports car leapt from the top of a small hill, flying through the air and landing hard, speeding towards a strange looking building. Dawn stared forward in horror. 'Scott! I think we're gonna craaaa...!'

Scott slammed on the brakes, his car skidding in the mud, doing a complete three-sixty, before coming to a rest perfectly in front of the entrance. The frontier guide calmly reached forward and turned the key, switching off the engine. 'Well here we are. That trip took longer than I thought, I'll have to go a bit faster next time...' Dawn stared at him, mouth open, unable to speak. Scott climbed out of the car, then looked back at the blue-haired girl, still sat in the passenger seat. 'Er, shall we Dawn?'

Still breathing heavily, Dawn managed a strangled grunt, then clambered out of the door, Piplup still bear-hugging her leg.

The foul weather hit her again as she emerged into the outside. Holding a hand up to protect her face, Dawn looked up at the building in front of her. The front entrance was shaped like a giant Seviper's jaws, Dawn remembered the pokemon all too well from the countless times Team Rocket had attacked the gang back in Sinnoh. Ahead, Scott ran forward, heading for the front doorway. Dawn immediately followed, covering her head with her coat.

'Aw man, that's better!' Scott exclaimed, wiping the water from his face. The thin shirt he always wore was soaked through. Dawn stopped next to him, finally managing to prize her starter pokemon from her lower leg.

'Where are we?' The young coordinator asked, looking around at the long, heavily furnished corridor they found themselves in.

'The Battle Pike,' Scott replied, rushing forward. 'Come on Dawn, the arena's through here, I think Paul's there already...'

'Hey wait up!' Dawn cried out running forward with Piplup in her arms. Together the pair burst through the door through to the other side...

* * *

'Now, Seviper, I choose you!' The Pike Queen Lucy cried out from her podium, throwing a red and white pokeball forward onto the field. The capsule opened with a flash, revealing the fang snake pokemon. Seviper uncoiled it's long purple and yellow body on the grassy field and looked up at Paul, hissing loudly and waving it's tail menacingly. Across the other side of the grass and water battlefield, the purple- haired trainer observed it's movements with narrowed eyes. This was the pokemon his brother had told him about yesterday, seems Lucy was bringing out her favorite pokemon straight away.

_Well that's fine with me..._

Paul reached onto his belt, making his choice and unclipping a pokeball of his own. The pokemon trainer drew his arm back, ready to throw his choice forward...

The door behind, suddenly burst open as two figures fell through. Startled, Paul looked over his shoulder to see Scott, followed closely by Dawn, enter the room, both blinking as their eyes adjusted to the well-lit arena. Back across the battlefield, Lucy smiled.

'Scott. I wondered when you would arrive. It's a pleasure to see you again.'

Scott raised a hand in greeting as he hurried over to a seat at the side of the middle of the battlefield. 'Hey, sorry I'm late, Lucy, my queen. I got held up in the pokemon center. I hope I didn't miss any of the action?'

'Not at all. We have just begun. Isn't that right Paul?' The Pike Queen called over to her opponent. Paul however wasn't paying attention, instead was staring as the blue-haired girl still stood in the doorway, her face growing faintly red.

'What are you doing here?'

Dawn bristled at the questioning tone. 'Well, I came to watch your battle, that's what! I thought you might like the support. I can go through if you want?'

Paul stared at Dawn for a moment longer, before turning back to Seviper. 'I really couldn't care less...'

Dawn huffed, then marched over to sit by Scott, crossing her arms and legs tightly. In front of her, Piplup jumped onto the top of the wall at the edge of the battlefield, observing field in front. At the other side, Barbara stood on a small referee podium, staring at the new comers, before turning to look at Lucy.

'Erm, are we ready to start then, Pike Queen?'

Lucy gave a sharp nod, watching Paul with red eyes. 'Yes. And please start from the beginning, for the benefit of our spectators.' Barbara nodded back.

'This will be a three on three pokemon battle between the Battle Pike Queen Lucy and challenger Paul from Veilstone City!' The female referee cried out. 'There will be no time limit! Furthermore, only the challenger will be able to substitute pokemon! Are both sides ready?'

'Ready,' Lucy replied instantly.

'I was ready the first time...' Paul muttered under his breath, before shouting out his reply for the referee to hear.

Barbara raised both flags in her arms to shoulder level. 'Then...Let the battle begin!'

'Aggron, standby for battle!'

Paul, not waiting a moment longer, threw his pokeball onto the field. His pokeball erupted in a flash of white light, the iron-armor pokemon growled menacingly as it pawed the ground at it's trainer's side of the battlefield.

* * *

'Aggron's a steel type right?' Dawn asked the large man beside her, eyes fixed on the two pokemon out in front of her.

'That's right. Which makes it the perfect choice against Lucy's Seviper. It's poison attacks will have next to no effect on Aggron,' Scott explained. 'Paul's playing this one by the book...'

* * *

'Paul, you have the honor!' Lucy called out to her opponent.

'Thanks. Aggron metal claw now!' Paul ordered. This pokemon immediately began to race forward, one claw held above it's head, glowing white. Lucy watched, expressionless, as the iron-armor pokemon vaulted the river running through the center of the field, heading straight for her pokemon. 'Aggron, take it now!' The purple-haired trainer shouted.

'Seviper, glare.'

The poison type glowered at Aggron as it approached, a terrible look of hatred in it's eyes as it stared at the steel-type. Aggron seemed to freeze in place, mere feet away from it's opponent, shocked into stopping it's attack.

'Aggron, what are you waiting for?' Paul yelled out, furious. Lucy smiled.

'Seviper, flamethrower!'

The great fang snake pokemon drew back it's head and doused Aggron in fire, the steel-type growling as it fell to one knee under the super-effective attack.

* * *

'Woah, why did Aggron stop it's attack?' Dawn exclaimed loudly. Beside her, Scott grinned widely.

'I think anyone would be paralyzed with fear after a glare like that from Seviper...'

* * *

'Dig underground, Seviper.' Seviper broke off it's fire attack and leapt forward into the earth. Paul growled, grinning through bared teeth. _Big mistake Lucy! _

_'_Aggron earthquake!'

'Not fast enough, I'm afraid.'

Still slow from the combined glare and flamethrower, Aggron had barely lifted it's foot off the ground before Seviper burst from the earth and, despite it's weight, knocked the large iron armor pokemon high into the air.

'Now use your poison tail to knock it down into the water.'

Seviper sprang after the steel-type, sailing above it. The fang snake pokemon's tail turned purple as it span round once, slamming the end into Aggron, sending it spinning back to earth. The rock-steel type cried out in agony as it hit the river in the center of the field, disappearing beneath the surface, it's trainer looking on in shock.

* * *

'Hmm impressive. Even with a type disadvantage, Lucy used the field to deliver the damage her Seviper couldn't... That's Lucy through and through,' Scott stated.

Dawn stared out onto the battlefield with wide eyes. She had always thought of Paul as being one of the strongest trainers she'd ever seen, but he was getting swept aside out there with ease. Shifting her gaze from Aggron struggling to climb back out of the water, she stared at Paul, noticing the pokemon trainer pull another pokeball from under his coat.

* * *

'Aggron return, now.' The iron-armor pokemon jumped out of the pool, back into it's pokeball, turning into red light as it made it's journey. Paul stared down at the pokeball in annoyance. 'I see you haven't got any better...' he growled, before pulling out a fresh capsule. At the side of the arena, Dawn frowned, overhearing him. Paul returned his gaze to Lucy's pokemon. Now that he knew Seviper was capable of using flamethrower, Aggron would be useless in this battle.

'Now, Ursaring, standby for battle!'

In a fresh flash, the hibernator pokemon came out roaring, shaking it's arms above it's head. On the sidelines, Dawn winced. Usually all the battles involving Paul's Ursaring became pretty brutal very quickly. On her podium, the Pike Queen closed her eyes, calmly waiting for the first attack to be called.

'Use hammer arm!'

Lucy snapped her eyes back open. Ursaring was charging forward, it's whole forearm glowing white, bellowing loudly at Seviper.

'Seviper, poison tail now!'

With a tail glowing purple once more, Lucy's pokemon did a forward flip towards Paul's, the poison tail and the hammer arm meeting with a crash. The two pokemon struggled for supremacy for a moment before Ursaring bellowed again and threw Seviper, backwards through the air.

'Seviper, bounce, then use poison fang.' The Pike Queen commanded.

The fang snake pokemon coiled itself into the shape of a spring in mid-air, hitting the bottom of Lucy's podium, then sprang back forward towards the hibernator pokemon, this time with fang glowing purple.

'Ursaring, block it!' Paul yelled. Ursaring growled and crossed it's arms across it's chest, then snarled in pain as Seviper clamped onto one of it's arms with it's powerful jaws. 'Ursaring shake it off, now!'

'Seviper let go, then use poison tail.'

Ursaring made to throw the fang snake pokemon high into the air. Seviper let go mid-way through it's opponents swing, then using the momentum Ursaring had given it, flipped over backwards, it's tail swinging round underneath it. Ursaring roared as the purple tail hit it under the chin, sending it flying backwards in an awkward twirl. The hibernator pokemon landed with a crash at Paul's side of the battlefield, sending loose chunks of grass flying.

* * *

'I don't get it, why would Paul send Ursaring charging in like that again when he'd already seen Aggron defeated by the same strategy?' Scott wondered aloud. Dawn watched the battle with a dark look on her face. She'd seen this strategy before... Her suspicions were confirmed as Ursaring suddenly leapt to it's feet, roaring loudly, it's eyes glowing bright red.

'That's why. Paul wanted Seviper to poison Ursaring so he could activate it's Guts ability! It's the same strategy he used against Ash's pikachu once.'

'Of course, Guts, it increases Ursaring's power if it gets a status impairment. But Paul was taking a big risk, his pokemon might never have got poisoned!

'That's just his way of battling,' Dawn muttered. 'He doesn't care if his pokemon get hurt, as long as they win...'

'Yeah I see what you mean...' Scott replied softly, observing the battle with fevered attention. 'He used the same kind of strategy in the last battle with Greta...'

* * *

'Ursaring, now use slash!' Paul called out. Roaring in fury, Ursaring charged forward, a crazed look on it's face as it's claws glowed bright white. Lucy observed the pokemon with slightly widened eyes.

'Seviper, flamethrower!'

Her pokemon fired a powerful jet of fire at the hibernator pokemon, stopping it in it's tracks. Ursaring bellowed loudly, beating away at the flames with it's claws then leapt towards the fang snake pokemon, swinging at it wildly. Seviper hissed in pain as a stray claw caught it on it's back, before springing away to the other side of the small river, landing in Paul's half. Paul stepped forward on his podium with fists clenched. It was time to do some real damage! 'Ursaring, focus blast now!'

Ursaring clapped it's arms together, forming a large blue sphere of energy between it's claws, then with a action like a bowler, flung it at the poison type.

'Seviper, beat the water with your tail.'

_What?_

Paul looked on in shock as the poison type smashed it's tail into the small stationary river between the two pokemon, the wave of water flying up and colliding with the blue sphere of energy. The water disappeared in a cloud of steam, hiding Seviper completely.

* * *

Up in the stands, Scott made a impressed sound in his throat. 'Lucy sure is an expert at using the field to her advantage.' His blue-haired companion nodded slowly in shocked agreement.

* * *

'Now, Seviper, poison fang.' The fang snake pokemon shot out of the steam towards Ursaring, it's fang glowing purple again.

'Meet it head on with hammer arm!' Paul yelled. Ursaring roared louder than it's trainer and ran forward, holding it's forearm high. The two pokemon met again with a loud crash in the center of the battlefield.

'Now Seviper, wrap around it.' Lucy commanded calmly. Her pokemon shook off the pain from the impact, then curled it's body around Ursaring, pinning it's powerful arms to it's body. 'Hold it tight.'

'Ursaring, get free now!' The purple-haired trainer shouted furious. His pokemon roared in anger, struggling against it's opponent. Lucy watched silently with careful eyes. Seviper just had to wait until the right moment... Suddenly Paul's pokemon grunted, falling to one knee. _Now. _

'Seviper let go and use poison tail.' The fang snake pokemon immediately uncoiled itself from around Ursaring and powered it's thick tail into Ursaring's chest, sending the hibernator pokemon stumbling backwards. 'Now, flamethrower,' the Pike Queen uttered with an air of finality. Seviper fired a powerful jet of fire straight into it's enemy's chest. Ursaring finally fell backwards, arms twitching, eyes turning into twirling spirals.

* * *

'Ursaring is unable to battle, the winner is Seviper!' Barbara shouted raising a flag in her sister's direction, a wide smile on her face. Lucy slightly smiled as well.

'Well done Seviper, excellent.' Her pokemon hissed in reply, returning to it's mistress' side of the field.

* * *

Paul held up Ursaring's pokeball, a small knot of worry starting to form in the pit of his stomach, slowly replacing the anger. Seviper was only the first of Lucy's pokemon and it didn't look tired at all. With Ursaring down and Aggron weakened, even he had to admit this battle was starting to look bad. Up in the stands, Scott watched the purple haired trainer with a furrowed expression. After watching that last battle with Greta, the frontier owner had harbored high hopes for the boy, but Paul seemed to be letting it slip through his fingers here. _Come on kid, get your game together! _Scott willed silently towards Paul. At the moment, Lucy was walking all over him. Paul needed to take control fast now to have any chance at all...

Paul put Ursaring's pokeball back on his belt, thinking hard. Aggron was still useless in the battle against Seviper, the fang snake pokemon's flamethrower would quickly knock it out of the match as well. He had no choice other than to use his last pokemon. _Might as well fight fire with fire..._

'Now, Charmeleon, standby for battle!'

The flame pokemon jumped forward in a flash of light, growling and snorting a puff of fire out of it's nostrils. Lucy watched the fire type with an interested eye, Seviper hissed angrily.

'I think I'll start this time, Seviper, flamethrower.'

'Charmeleon, use flamethrower right back!' Paul commanded, clenching his fists. The two fire attacks collided in the center of the field, creating a small cloud of smoke.

* * *

'Why did Lucy use flamethrower?' Dawn wondered aloud, watching the plume of smoke disappear. 'Charmeleon's a fire type, even if the attack had hit, it wouldn't have caused much damage...'

'I think Lucy was testing Charmeleon's strength. By drawing Paul in to attack, she was able to evaluate how powerful Paul's pokemon was. And it looks to me like they're pretty even...'

* * *

'Charmeleon go, now use fire spin!' Charmeleon sent more flames in Seviper's direction.

'Seviper, beat the water.'

The poison type slithered forward, then once again hit the water with it's tail, sending up a wave that cut off it's enemy's attack completely. Paul snarled in frustration as steam filled the battlefield once more. 'Fine then! Get in close and use slash now!'

'Poison fang, Seviper.'

The flame pokemon sprinted forward, springing over the water and swinging a glowing claw at the poison type, Seviper lunged forward, almost swallowing the attack and biting down on Charmeleon's entire forearm. Charmeleon cried out in rage, shooting fire into the air, before following up with another slash, this one from it's left claw, knocking the poison type into the air.

'Flamethrower now!' Paul yelled, watching Seviper fly upwards, determined keep the poison type on the defensive. Charmeleon shot more flames at Seviper, hitting it in mid-air, sending the fang snake pokemon flipping backwards towards Lucy. The Pike Queen looked on in concern as her pokemon fell to the ground, then slowly rose up to it's full height again, hissing angrily between breaths. Paul glared at his pokemon's opponent. _I've had enough of you!_

'Finish this Charmeleon, inferno let's go!'

The flame pokemon began to charge powerful blue flames between it's claws. Lucy watched it's progress calmly.

'Seviper, poison tail.' Her pokemon did another forward flip, swinging a glowing purple tail straight down, aiming for the flame pokemon's head. Charmeleon snarled, then threw up it's claws to stop it, the powerful blue flames colliding with Seviper's attack. The two pokemon pushed against each other, growling and hissing respectively as they both started to increase the power of their attacks, high energy crackling all around them. Charmeleon gave a final roar, then with a sudden effort, threw the poison type backwards, flames raging in all directions. Seviper impacted into the base of the Pike Queen's podium hard, it's trainer crying out, loosing her calm exterior for the first time in the battle. Paul grinned in triumph. Finally things were going his way.

'Charmeleon, end this with dragon rage!' Charmeleon opened it's jaws wide, then suddenly winced, falling down to one knee, turning a slight shade of purple.

_What, no! Not now!_

Lucy smiled. 'Seviper, now use poison fang,' she ordered, regaining control of her emotions once more. Out of the dust at the base of her podium, Seviper sprang forward like a spring once again, opening it's mouth in one final effort, hitting the fire type hard. Paul shouted out in shock as Charmeleon fell backwards into the channel of water behind it.

At the side of the battlefield, Barbara started to raise a flag in the Pike Queen's direction, before suddenly the channel of water erupted into large clouds of steam. Paul watched with triumph as Charmeleon emerged from the cloud, fire raging from it's tail in all directions. _Blaze! Well it's about time!_

Lucy observed the flame pokemon with a raised eyebrow. 'Seviper, poison tail.'

'Charmeleon, fire blast it!'

A huge wave of heat erupted from the fire types jaw, engulfing Seviper completely. The Pike Queen looked on in shock as Seviper hit the ground, it's body scorched.

'Seviper is unable to battle! Charmeleon is the winner!' Barbara shouted in disgruntlement, waving a flag in the purple-haired trainer's direction.

* * *

Scott breathed out in a sigh of relief, letting out the breath he'd been holding since the fire type had fallen into the water. 'The kid finally did it...'

Dawn stared forward at Charmeleon, noticing the similarities between it and another fire type with a similar ability. 'Is that Blaze?'

'Yup. And it kicked in just in time for Paul. Still Blaze only activates when the pokemon is close to it's limits, Charmeleon must be pretty worn out. And Aggron isn't exactly too hot either. Lucy still has two pokemon left, both of which haven't even battled yet...'

* * *

Lucy recalled her her pokemon, smiling down at her pokeball. 'You did very well Seviper. Now take a well deserved rest.' The Pike Queen looked up at Paul, then pulled another pokeball out.

'Now Milotic, you're next!'

Paul looked forward with a sinking feeling as the large water type appeared on the field, landing gracefully in front of Lucy. Both of his remaining pokemon were weak to water types. The tender pokemon gave a shrill cry, looking down at Charmeleon with it's red eyes. The purple-haired trainer jumped a little as his pokemon groaned, placing a claw on it's chest. _Charmeleon's still poisoned, I have to act fast! '_Charmeleon, fire blast now!'

'Milotic, hydro pump.'

The water and fire attacks hit each other in the center of the field, neither one gaining a immediate advantage. Paul snarled. 'Charmeleon, more power now! You better win this!'

The fire pokemon strained it's muscles, cords popping out in it's neck, putting all the power it had from Blaze into the attack, then suddenly faltered, the poison sapping it of more of it's strength. The hydro pump immediately took advantage of the distracted flame pokemon, powering through the fire attack and smashing into Charmeleon. Paul gripped the edge of the railings around his podium in shock as his pokemon was blasted backwards. Charmeleon tumbled, head over heels, before coming to a rest near the wall surrounding the battlefield, stirring weakly.

'Charmeleon is unable to battle, the winner is Milotic!' The referee shouted, giving a little cheer. Paul immediately recalled his pokemon and wrenched Aggron's capsule back from his belt, throwing it forward with his spare hand, his eyes burning.

'Aggron, standby for battle!'

The iron-armor pokemon landed on the field with a crash for the second time, roaring, sweat still running down it's face from it's last battle. Paul shouted it's first attack straight away, abandoning any semblance of a strategy, only wanting to cause damage. 'Double-edge now!'

Aggron ran forward, flashing white. Lucy watched it, shaking her head a little in disappointment. 'Milotic, hydro pump again.'

The powerful jet of water flew forward, hitting Aggron in it's chest, slowing it down to a standstill. The iron-armor pokemon cried out on pain as it struggled against the attack, falling down to one knee. Paul watched on in silence, disgusted with the battle's outcome before turning away, hanging his head low.

_This is over..._

'Come on Aggron, keep going! I know you can do it!'

A voice cried out from the sidelines, Paul looked around in surprise. Dawn was stood up on the outside of the battlefield, leaning forward, her hands on the wall separating the stands from the battle. Piplup stood between her arms, jumping up and down, shouting it's own name in encouragement at Aggron. Sitting beside them, Scott also looked stunned at the young girl's outburst. On the field, Aggron groaned in pain from the super-effective attack, drowning in the high pressure of water hitting it's face, then suddenly listened hard as shouting began to faintly reach it's ears.

'Go for it Aggron! Don't give up, you're strong! You can take that!'

Aggron growled underneath the onslaught of water. The voice was right. Aggron was strong! And it would take more than a hydro pump to beat it! Letting loose a roar of fresh determination, the iron-armor pokemon braced itself, then leapt up high into the air, out of the jet of water. Paul, Scott, Dawn, Piplup, Barbara and Lucy gasped as Aggron came crashing down on top of Milotic, it's entire body glowing white, before slamming a forearm into Milotic's head. The arena erupted in clouds of dirt and dust as the two pokemon impacted into the earth hard.

Both trainer looked on in shock as the cloud finally settled. The tender pokemon lay sprawled out at Aggron's feet, the iron armor pokemon swaying above it, a soft growl coming from it's mouth. Barbara slowly began to raise a flag in Paul's direction, too stunned to speak.

'Aggg-ron...' The iron armor pokemon suddenly collapsed forward, utterly spent of all it's energy.

'Erm, both Aggron and Milotic are both unable to battle! Since all of Paul's pokemon are unable to battle...the winner is Pike Queen Lucy!'

* * *

Paul fell to his knees, Aggron's pokeball still in his hand. That was it. He was done. Paul looked up through his long purple hair and drew back Aggron into it's pokeball. As the podiums on each side slowly lowered to the ground, Paul watched silently as Lucy recalled her water type, praising it as she did. The purple-haired trainer glanced to one side, movement catching his eye. Dawn had climbed down from the stands and was marching towards him, her hands balled into fists. Paul stood up, clambering out of his podium, anger starting to refill the empty void inside. Who was this girl to think she could shout at his pokemon without permission? As the blue-haired coordinator reached him, the pokemon trainer opened his mouth, ready to take out his fury on the girl in front of him.

Before he could utter a word, Dawn slapped him hard across the cheek.

Paul staggered backwards, holding his face. Dawn advanced towards him, thunderclouds ablaze in her eyes.

'How dare you use pokemon in that way! How dare you place winning a battle, above you're pokemon's well-being. And How. Dare. You. Just give up on Aggron like you did! You want to know why you didn't win today?' Dawn dropped her voice from a furious shout to an arctic low. Paul stared at her with wide eyes, a touch of fear forming in his stomach. 'It's because you don't care about your pokemon. And I don't think they care about you either. And so long as that's true, you will never win another battle again!' With that, Dawn turned and marched out of the battlefield, her blue pokemon following closely behind.

Paul stared after her, shell-shocked.

_Is she...right?_

The pokemon trainer slowly turned back to look at the Pike Queen. Lucy was observing him with a disapproving gaze, not moving from her side of the field. Paul slowly sat down, legs crumbling beneath him, staring at his hands. All his old doubts and feelings started to rush through his head, everything he had suppressed since the Sinnoh League finally bursting through.

_What If I am wrong..._

Paul remained where he was, the arena falling oddly silent around him. Barbara climbed down to the arena floor and quietly walked over to her sister, whispering quietly, Lucy whispering back, not taking her eyes away from Paul for a second throughout the whole conversation. Up in the stands, Scott let out a deep breath, staring sadly at the purple-haired trainer.

* * *

An immeasurable amount of time passed at he sat there. It could have been a few seconds, or a few hours, or maybe a few years. Paul continued to sit with his head down as the minutes passed by, hair hiding his eyes, lost in his own thoughts. The Pike Queen broke off her conversation with her sister and slowly began to make her way forward towards him.

Suddenly a women suddenly burst through the same doors that Dawn had left through, making the arena jump, her face wearing a panicked expression. The women was wearing a police outfit, a growlithe running by her side. 'Queen Lucy, Queen Lucy!'

Lucy looked up at Officer Jenny, a look of surprise crossing her face. 'What can I do for you, Officer Jenny?'

'Queen Lucy! The storm, it's grown completely out of control! If this weather gets any worse, half the town will be destroyed! You have to get out of here! We're evacuating Fuchsia right now!

The Pike Queen gasped along with her sister Barbara. Paul looked up in shock. Over in the stands, Scott exclaimed loudly, all four suddenly realizing once again that another world existed outside the arena. At once, both sisters began asking questions loudly, out the corner of his eyes, Paul could see the frontier guide hurrying down meet them. Paul remained in place, his mind still spinning from the battle, but one small thought burrowing it's way through. There was someone else who was heading for Fuchsia as well. Someone who had no clue what horror was about to befall the city. Someone who hated his guts, but was still completely innocent, like the hundreds of others now in danger.

_Dawn..._

* * *

**Please let me know what you think about this chapter. It was definatly harder to make Paul lose a battle, rather than win one. I hope I did a good job, not too sure myself tbh haha. Thanks for reading :) next one will hopefully be up at some point this weekend.**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hey guys, time for chapter 18. And I'd like your opinion on something if you don't mind...I'm thinking of coming up with names for the chapters instead of just numbers, but not sure if it's really worth the effort. Plus now i'm so far in, it might be a bit late anyway. If you review this one, just give me a yes if you think I should-cheers :)**

* * *

Officer Jenny disappeared through the exit to the battlefield, closely followed by Barbara the referee. As the Pike Queen hurried after them, Lucy paused by the doorway and turned back, looking briefly at the purple-haired trainer still sat on the arena floor near the challenger's podium. The frontier brain opened her mouth slightly, then closed it, spinning back around and following her sister.

'C'mon kid, we can't stay here. We have to move before it's too late!'

A hand gripped Paul's shoulder. The pokemon trainer stared up at Scott, his mouth half open, brain still struggling to catch up with recent events. 'Now kid!'

Scott pulled the pokemon trainer to his feet by his arm, then hurried towards the exit. Paul followed, finally regaining use of his legs as he ran. The battlefield disappeared like a bad memory as he moved back down the long corridor, back to the seviper's mouth, a cold gust already swirling down it as ahead, the trio of women threw open the front entrance.

The wind hit Paul like a hammer blow as he and Scott exited the building, almost knocking him off his feet. Strangely enough, though all trace of rain had passed by, the power of the gusts had tripled in size. Paul immediately dropped into a crouch, grabbing back at the door. Scott stood a few feet ahead in the open, bent almost double, his large weight undoubtedly helping him remain upright. Ahead, past the frontier guide's car, Paul saw the Pike Queen and her sister climb into a police car, hair flying in all directions. The squad car bit into the ground and span away, sending up sprays of muddy earth.

'Where are they going?' Paul yelled.

Scott fumbled forward, opening his sports car door. 'Fuchsia! Lucy's going to try and help with the evacuation!' He yelled back. 'C'mon kid, we have to go!'

Paul remained where he was, staring up at the sky. No rain descended from the sky, but dark thunderclouds covered every inch of blue. _This isn't right..._ Despite the power of the wind blowing inwards from the sea, the clouds remained motionless above him, only flashing occasionally. Paul had been in many forms of weather in different regions, but this was beyond anything he'd experienced before.

'Paul! Let's move! Now!'

Paul returned his gaze to the frontier guide, then ran forward, leaning sideways into the gust, grabbing at the car door beside Scott. 'Where's Dawn? Has she left the facility yet?'

Scott stared back at him, then carefully straightened up, looking first at the doorway, then at the surrounding countryside. 'We didn't pass her on the way out... she must have left already!'

Paul drew himself to his full height, anchoring himself to the convertible. To the rear of the seviper shaped building, a green jeep suddenly sped away, passing the pair, heading after the squad car. Paul recognized the other women from the Pike in the front seats, but no hint of blue hair passed by. The surrounding countryside was just as absent, trees creaking as their roots fought to keep them in place.

The purple-haired trainer gritted his teeth. An image of the young female coordinator's hate-filled face passed through his mind. For a moment, he considered just leaving. _Just go, get out of here... _In light of his recent defeat, Paul wavered on the edge. _You couldn't wait to get rid of her before... Just go, forget about Dawn and the Frontier... _The doubts that plagued him since Sinnoh gave voice again inside his head, speaking in a gentle, reassuring voice. _What's the point... You can't beat Lucy...and you couldn't beat Ash...why bother with anything anymore?_

'Paul! Get in the car, kid! Now!'

_Just give it up..._

'No!'

Paul shouted at Scott. The purple-haired trainer bared his teeth and growled angrily. _I'm not listening to you anymore! _'No! Dawn's still out there somewhere! And I need Lucy to stay safe, so I can beat her in our rematch!' Scott stared at the young man, his sunglasses at a crooked angle, his shirt billowing in the air. Paul turned away and began to walk towards the nearest treeline.

A hand grabbed his arm.

Paul span around, looking back. As he stared again at the frontier guide, Scott's face broke back into a joyful smile, his whole face lighting up. The overweight man beamed at the purple-haired trainer, then jerked his head to one side.

'It'l be faster in the car, kid!'

Paul hesitated, then nodded once. Engine roaring, tyres spinning, the red sports car leapt forward, racing towards Fuchsia.

* * *

'Hold on Piplup, i'll get us out of here!'

Dawn gripped her pokemon tight and ran forward, bent double, jumping from tree to tree. Stray twigs and chunks of earth whirled around her in a frenzy as she fought her way through a small forest, heading for Fuchsia. Despite being world-famed for it's wild pokemon, the Safari Zone remained completely void of any living creature. _All the pokemon have run away... _Dawn could hardly say she was surprised. Indeed her own pokemon, Piplup fought an increasing desperate battle to be let loose, the closer the pair got to the city.

'Just calm down Piplup, we'll be alright when we get back to the pokemon center, it's not far now!'

'Pipppp-luppppp!' Piplup screamed in terror as it tried to escape it's owner's grip.

_To say the weather had taken a turn for the worse would be the understatement of the year! _Dawn thought as she ran, pushing her wild hair out from her eyes with her spare hand. _This is insane! _Dawn could remember as a little girl, she had loved flying her kite and visiting the nearby wind-works as often as she could. But this was something else...

'Just hang on Piplup!'

* * *

The convertible screeched through the corner, following the two vehicles ahead closely. The police car lead the way, flying through the narrow lanes leading back to Fuchsia. Small trees and other vegetation had littered the route behind, forcing them to stop several times already. Paul gripped the car door frame, still staring at the dark sky. The clouds above had started to move, but in no particular direction. Paul watched them carefully, his mind working hard. He'd seen formations like this before on television, but never in person. If he was right, then it meant serious trouble. And for once, Paul he hoped he was wrong.

The convoy slid round a final corner, finally catching sight of Fuchsia ahead. Smoke flew into the air as all three immediately slammed their brakes on, screeching to a halt, all occupants gazing forward. Paul looked on with a grim face, his fears already realized.

From their slightly elevated view of the city, Fuchsia looked relatively unharmed at first glance. On closer inspection though, the group could see dozens buildings with roofs missing and collapsed walls, debris scattered all over the streets. A few figures ran from house to house, vehicles with flashing lights sped in all directions throughout the streets. Where the land met the sea, huge waves assaulted the beach-head, several buildings had already been washed away into the ocean. But what captured the group's terrified attention without challenge was even further out. About a kilometer past the coast, a huge cyclone of roaring winds tore up the water's surface, extending from the ground to the sky in a huge tornado. Even as Paul watched with widened eyes, the cyclone split, forming into three slightly smaller, but equally powerful twisters. Beside him, Scott stared forward, mouth open, sunglasses falling off his face in shock.

The trio of tornadoes began to twist back and forth across the water, remaining parallel to the city's coast, as if patrolling the sea, daring anyone to sail out. Tearing his eyes away from the power in front of him, Paul watched as the police car and the jeep's doors were suddenly flung open, both occupants climbing out, hair billowing as they desperately clung to their vehicles for support. The purple-haired pokemon trainer then glanced behind them, back up the road and the trees lining it's edges, thinking hard. _We took so long getting here...Dawn must have passed us already. It didn't take me this long to travel the distance before._ The frontier guide shouted something unheard as Paul suddenly clambered out to join the women just ahead.

'We have to get to the city!' Lucy shouted to the four women beside her. 'There are still people trapped down there!'

'It's too dangerous!' Jenny shouted back, crouching down and holding her growlithe's collar, holding her hat with the other hand. 'You need to stay here, I shouldn't have brought you...'

'It's too late for that!' Lucy glanced to one side, noticing Paul suddenly appear by her side. 'We're here now, and we're going to help!'

Jenny looked helplessly at the group, then looked down the road leading to Fuchsia. Only about half a kilometer remained, but the road ahead was littered with fallen trees, these ones far larger. 'We can't! I can't get any further with the car, and it's too dangerous to proceed on foot! Listen to me, I need all civilians out of the area now! Growlithe, calm down!'

The last comment was directed at the pokemon at her feet. The puppy pokemon, known for it's loyal and protective nature, was fighting hard to escape Jenny's grip. As Paul watched, the fire-type twisted round, biting it's owner hard on her leg. The police officer cried out in pain and shock as Growlithe finally ripped itself from her surprised grasp and sprinted off, back up the road.

Lucy watched it go with an expressionless face, dark hair whipping around her head, then turned back to look at the group, her eyes lingering on Paul briefly again. 'Then we use our pokemon to help us.' Ignoring Jenny's repeated protests, the Pike Queen pulled another pokeball from her belt and opened it in her hand. A flash of white light jumped to one side, then exploding in size, a giant shiny pokemon appeared. Steelix gave a loud roar, announcing it's arrival. Next to Lucy, Barbara and the other two women also pulled out pokeballs, Snorlax, Rhyhorn and Graveler appeared in further flashes. With detached curiosity, Paul watched as the pokemon began to react in fear to the storm much the same way as Growlithe had, although this time their trainer's were able to calm them down enough to prevent them fleeing. Even though, this only increased Paul's sense of forewarning. _This can't be a normal storm to make a powerful pokemon like Steelix react like that... _he thought, watching the steel-type's panic-stricken face.

The Pike Queen leapt forward, landing between two of the shiny boulders that made up Steelix's spine, near the head of her pokemon. With a word of plea, her pokemon surged forward towards the city, Snorlax, Rhyhorn and Graveler following closely behind, each carrying their respective trainers. Paul stared after them, pulling his own pokeball from his belt. With Aggron defeated and Nidoking back with Reggie, Paul had only one pokemon with him that might be heavy enough not to be taken immediately away by the ever increasing wind. Not daring to throw it, Paul simply held Torterra's pokeball out in front of him, his finger hovering over the button on the front.

_'And I don't think they care about you either...'_

Paul faltered, hesitating. What if Torterra just ran off like Growlithe? Would his pokemon be loyal enough to stay and help him? How much did he really trust his pokemon?

'Paul!' The purple-haired trainer looked around to see Scott behind him, one hand holding his sunglasses in place. 'Paul, what do you think you're doing?'

Paul turned back, looking down into Fuchsia, finding the red-topped center in among the ruined homes. The P had long since blown away, but there was no mistaking the modern-looking building. The pokemon trainer then returned his gaze to the capsule in his hand.

'I'm going.'

Reaching a decision, a finger stabbed down. A huge pokemon pokemon with a small tree growing out of it's back materialized in front. Torterra bellowed loudly in fear, it's eyes staring round widely.

'Torterra!' Paul shouted. The grass pokemon ignored it's trainer's call, backing up a few feet as it stared out at the tornadoes thrashing back and forth out to sea.

'TORTERRA!' Paul dropped to his knees in front of his starter and gripped the grass type's head with both hands, forcing the pokemon to look him in the eyes. 'Torterra, get a grip! It's only a storm, you've dealt with worse! I'm right here...And I need you now, Torterra!'

_I need your help..._

Torterra's panicking eyes met Paul's. Both pokemon and trainer stared at each other for a moment, before the former gave a low grunt, then lowered it's head, a hint of determination entering it's eyes. Paul nodded back grimly, relief washing through him inside.

_Thank you._

'Paul you can't go, haven't you seen... You'l get yourself killed!' Scott shouted at the boy kneeing by the large grass-type. Jenny immediately began to shout at the trainer as well.

'As a officer of the law, I order you to st...'

Paul clambered onto his starter's back, clinging onto the tree emerging from it's back. Ignoring both people behind him, the trainer urged his pokemon forward, swallowing down hard on his own fear as Torterra leapt forward...

* * *

Gasping for breath, Dawn began to run even harder back through the lower regions of the Safari Zone, fighting desperately against the wind that tried to push her back as she crossed a deserted meadow. There was something wrong with her pokemon, Piplup continued to struggle in her arms, clearly distressed about something despite her best efforts to reassure it. _I have to get back to the pokemon center, I don't understand why Piplup's acting like this... There's no way it'd be this afraid of just the weather, it's usually braver than I am anyway..._

The coordinator ducked under another swaying branch as she dived into another wood-line, the trees briefly shielding her from the elements. Dawn paused for a moment, bent over double, sides heaving.

'Pip-luuuuppppp!'

Dawn held her pokemon even tighter as she turned the water type round to face her, then held it at arms reach so she could look it in the face.

'Piplup...you have to...tell me...what's wrong! I can't...help...you if you...keep fighting me like this!'

Piplup shook it's head frantically at it's gasping trainer, then began to struggle again, tears forming in the corners of it's eyes. Dawn stared back, fighting back tears herself as she watched her pokemon helplessly. _Piplup's terrified... I should have stayed at the Battle Pike. _The blue-haired girl watched the her pokemon for a moment longer, before pulling it back into her chest, wiping her eyes fiercely with a spare hand. _It's too late to worry about that now, Piplup needs my help and I'm not going to let it down! _Dismissing the mounting pain in her calves and quads, ignoring her need for oxygen, Dawn sprinted forward, back into the howling winds.

* * *

Scott heaved at the car door, finally pulling it shut, cutting off the wind. Out of the side mirror, he could see a flash of blue lights as Officer Jenny disappeared back up the road to meet with the other rescue services. She had ordered the frontier guide to follow her. Still Scott hesitated as he made to turn the ignition. Paul, Lucy and the others had disappeared into the city's outskirts a few moments ago and he couldn't just leave them so easily. _Still, what help am I going to be sat here? _Scott thought as he looked at the horrifying horizon beyond Fuchsia's edge. Two more tornadoes had descended from the sky in the last few minutes, joining the first three. At the moment, the twisters seemed content with staying a short distance out into the sea, bombarding the coast with huge waves, but Scott knew with grim certainty should they come further inwards, the city would be destroyed in seconds. _I don't have any pokemon to help me, i'm useless here. _Making a decision, despite the guilt forming in his chest, Scott started up the engine of his convertible, then twisted round to look backwards as he prepared to reverse.

The car sped backwards, then screeched to a frantic stop again as suddenly, a blue-haired girl burst from the undergrowth to the car's rear and fell hard on the tarmac road. Dawn winced as she fell, swallowing down a sob as her arm grazed across the road's hard surface.

'Dawn!'

Dawn looked up from the ground at the large man towering over her, one hand grabbing at the rear bumper for support. 'Dawn! What are you doi..., get in the car now!'

Dawn allowed Scott to pull her back to her feet, staring with mingled surprise and relief at his face. 'Scott! What's going on, why are you here?' Dawn's voice suddenly died in her throat as she looked past Scott towards Fuchsia, then to the sea beyond, her mouth dropping open. Scott ignored her questions, then without waiting for her consent, picked up the girl in his hands and threw her into the passenger seat of his car, slamming the door behind her. Dawn pulled herself up into a sitting position, still holding Piplub tight as Scott jumped back into the driver's seat.

'Dawn what the...why were you behind us? I thought you'd be back at the pokemon center by now! Paul's down there right now with Lucy, looking for you!'

Dawn stared back into Scott's stricken face. 'I got held up in the Safari Zone, the weather slowed me down. Wait, did you say Paul was down there...?'

'Yeah, and the others. We got held up on the road ourselves, we thought you would have passed us by now!'

* * *

_What am I doing?_

Paul clung on to the tree on the top of Torterra's back with all his strength as he continued to look forward, screwing up his face against the wind. Lucy and the other girls had disappeared among the network of buildings, looking for any trapped civilians still residing within the city. It didn't matter though, Paul knew where he was heading. The battered pokemon center stood about a hundred meters to his front, still standing strong in the face of the extreme weather, unlike the ruined homes around it. Torterra continued to march towards it, barely suppressed fear showing on it's face.

_This is totally insane! _Paul thought as he stared out at the tornadoes out to sea, the now five twisters sending up enormous spirals of churning water into the air. He had told Scott that he was going so he could ensure Lucy kept safe and remained fit for a rematch, but he had clearly failed at that since he had lost them soon after entering the city. The only reason he had left was the pokemon center. Dawn would have headed there after leaving the Pike. She might be trapped inside...

Paul gritted his teeth. He would be the first to admit, playing the hero wasn't exactly his style. Especially not to a girl that had just slapped and insulted him. But at the same time, something inside him fought bitterly against the idea of leaving the young girl to whatever fate awaited her. And besides, he still owed her a debt. The bandage had been removed from his head, but the memory remained.

'Come on Torterra, let's go! If you can get to the pokemon center, you'l be out of this storm! C'mon, lets move it!' Paul yelled at the pokemon underneath him. Torterra gave a muffled roar, then began to lumber forward with increased speed. The doors of the center miraculously opened up to greet them as trainer and pokemon gratefully dived inside.

Paul let loose a huge sigh of relief as he stared at the center floor, resting on his hands and knees. Beside him, Torterra lay slumped on the ground, foam forming in the corner of it's mouth and running down it's face, eyes wide and rolling. Without thinking, Paul reached across, putting a hand on the grass-type's head in thanks, both silently celebrating the fact they were still alive.

* * *

Dawn stared with wide eyes at the pokemon center near the far edge of the city. _Paul's in there...looking for me? _The blue-haired coordinator turned to look at Scott, her expression frantic. No matter how much she disliked the pokemon trainer, she couldn't allow Paul to risk his life for her when she was safe and sound back here. 'We have to go after him Scott! He doesn't know...and he's out there in the middle of it!'

'No way! We can't, it's too dangerous! Paul will have to...'

The roar off the wind suddenly cut completly. Dawn and Scott looked forward out of the front windscreen, stopping their heated conversation in shock. Out in the near distance, five tornadoes continued to rage, but now completely unheard, venting their fury, but now in now complete silence. Dawn opened her mouth slowly.

'What's goi...'

From the heavens, above the clouds, a deafening primeval shriek suddenly echoed across the entire area. Dawn and Scott immediately slammed their hands against their ears, every bone in their body vibrating from the noise. In the foot-well, Piplup hugged the floor, whimpering in absolute terror. Dawn looked forward through her half-screwed up eyes, staring for it's source, looking for a creature capable of making such a sound, but nothing could be seen.

Suddenly the five tornadoes out on the water all converged, slamming into each other with incredible force, sending a mild shock-wave resounding across the city, into the surrounding country. With the impact, the howling winds switched back on at full volume, more powerful than ever as the car began to shake. Both coordinator and frontier guide watched in horror as a huge singular twister emerged from the epicenter of the collision.

The enormous hurricane seemed to shiver, then began to move slowly towards the coast...

* * *

'Dawn! Are you in here?'

Paul ran from room to room, throwing open every door, shouting as loud as he could. The center was completely deserted. _She must of got out in time... or never made it in the first place. _The purple-haired trainer growled in frustration as he headed back to the main entrance. Torterra was still there, pacing up and down the room, throwing it's head left and right, looking around with wide eyes. Paul ran back up to it, feeling another small wave of relief. He had been half expecting the pokemon to leave him here. 'We're leaving Torterra, she's not here.'

Torterra grunted in ecstatic agreement, then lowered itself to the ground to allow it's trainer to clamber on it's back.

A ear-piercing shriek suddenly erupted from outside the center, obliterating all rational thought. Paul fell to the floor hard, shouting, covering his ears. Beside him, Torterra roared, rearing up on it's hind legs, it's eyes turning feral.

* * *

The coordinator cried out in panic as she watched the hurricane race up the beach, then enter the town, it's base over a hundred meters wide, eating everything in it's path. Without pause, the furious swirling winds flew straight for the pokemon center, covering and swallowing it, the building completely disappearing from view in the vortex. Dawn covered her mouth with her hands, eyes bulging as she screamed through her fingers.

'NO, PAUL!'

* * *

**Thanks for reading once again. Hope you enjoyed it, I was originally planning to combine this and the next chapter as one, until I realized just how big it would be if I included everything I wanted and hopefully make a good job of it. Nothing like a good cliffhanger eh? ;) Please feel free to review, good or bad, I welcome both (well, one kind more than the other anyway haha). Seeya next time :)**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey guys and gals chapter 19 is up and running. Sorry for the wait, was away on holiday. But now I'm back, you should get updates on a more regular basis. So anyway, enough from me, here it is...**

* * *

'We're leaving Torterra, she's not here.'

Torterra grunted in ecstatic agreement, then lowered to the ground to allow it's trainer to clamber on it's back.

A ear-piercing shriek suddenly erupted from outside the centre, obliterating all rational thought. Paul fell to the floor hard, shouting, covering his ears. Beside him, Torterra roared, rearing up on it's hind legs, it's eyes turning feral.

As quickly as the scream from outside came, it fell silent again. Paul slowly unscrewed his eyes, peeking out.

_What the..._

The walls of the centre suddenly began to shake violently, every window rattling in their frame. The purple-haired trainer slowly stood back up, renewed fear dawning across his face.

The glass doors suddenly imploded inwards, showering both human and pokemon with thousands of shards. The windows quickly followed, almost everyone shattering at the same time. The wind howled in victory, entering and rushing through the centre, Paul yelled out as it picked him up off his feet and threw him several meters backwards, smashing him hard into the floor near the counter at the far end of the room. Clutching at his bruised side, the pokemon trainer slowly looked up in horror as the opposite wall of the centre began to disappear, vanishing into the raging cyclone...

* * *

'NO, PAUL!'

Dawn immediately grabbed at the car door handle, searching for it desperately in her panic. Beside her, Scott immediately lunged across, wrapping the young girl in a tight bear hug and dragging her further back into the car.

'LET GO OF ME!'

'Dawn no! You can't! There's nothing you can do...'

'I HAVE TO HELP HIM!'

'No! It's too late...'

Dawn screamed again as she fought against the older man with all her strength. She had to go! _Paul's down there because of me! I can't just let him... _Dawn let out something between a sob and a roar as she doubled, then tripled her efforts to get free.

* * *

As if in slow motion, Paul started to slide across the floor towards the disintegrating wall. The purple-haired trainer curled up into a ball, closing his eyes tight. He didn't want to see what he knew was about to follow.

A huge weight suddenly slammed down on top of him, crushing all the air out of his lungs, his chest immediately fared up in pain from the pressure. Paul yelled out, wildly thinking the centre had collapsed on top of him, then snapped his eyes open.

* * *

Torterra pressed it's full weight down on it's trainer, pinning him in place, then raised it's head to the storm, roaring in open challenge as the hurricane ripped away the roof, then the remaining three walls along with the rest of the building...

* * *

Paul stared up at the grass pokemon on top of him, unable to move, barely able to breathe. Around him the centre disappeared completely, swallowed up into the air, leaving nothing but swirling greyness. His pokemon roared again, unheard by it's trainer, as eight green vines erupted from it's back and burrowed into the ground around it, forming a large spider web-like pattern. Paul stared around in wonderment, almost too shocked to feel afraid. _It's using ingrain to anchor itself..._

Torterra lowered it's head, crouching protectively over it's trainer.

_Paul woke suddenly, eyes snapping open in excitement as sunlight broke through the trees. Today was the day. Finally they had made it. The young boy ripped his way out of his sleeping bag and ran over to a figure laid at the other side of the campsite, shaking him hard. Reggie groaned, then opened his eyes sleepily, looking at his younger brother above._

_'Come on, get up now! We're almost there!'_

_Reggie slowly sat up, rubbing his face. 'What time is it?'_

_'Who cares? It's daytime. Come on, let's go!'_

_The older boy sighed, then smiled at Paul's barely suppressed excitement. It wasn't often he saw his little brother like this._

_'Ok ok, you win, I'm up.'_

_The siblings had been on the road for over three days now. Paul would have made the journey in two by himself, but Reggie had insisted on stopping each night. Paul ground his teeth as he hurried forward, ahead of his brother. Didn't Reggie see how important this day was, how this was the beginning of his new, better life? _

_The sun had almost reached the middle of the sky when the young boy ran up the final hill and stared at their destination. Sandgem town expanded out in front, a sleepy place with few attractions to outsiders. But Paul was no tourist on vacation. The purple-haired boy turned back down the hill to look at his brother slowly catching him up, strolling along at an easy pace._

_'Come on, let's go!'_

_'Chill out Paul, there're not going to disappear if we don't get there in the next thirty seconds...'_

_'I should have come by myself!'_

_'Now now, you know it's not safe for you to travel alone. Not yet anyway...'_

_Paul ran a hand through his hair in frustration then span back around, striding down the gentle slope._

_The laboratory stood out like a sore thumb, sat in the middle of a cluster of houses. Paul ran up the front steps and threw open the doors. Reggie followed closely behind, his face starting to look excited as well. The inside was a bland white colour, high tech machinery lay littered around the room. In the very centre a small circular stand rose from the ground, a glass dome covering it's top. Paul ran over to it, no longer able to contain his glee as he pressed his hands against the glass, staring at the three pokeballs inside._

_'Ahh. So you must be the new trainer Reggie told me about.'_

_Paul span back around. Next to his brother by the doorway stood a old looking man with a large white moustache. The man wore a stern expression as he stared at Paul intently. 'My name is Professor Rowan. It's a pleasure to meet you, young man.'_

_'Thank you. I'm here for my new pokemon,' Paul replied immediately. 'Please,' he added quickly as he fought to regain control over his emotions._

_'Ah ha! Very well, straight to business then.' Rowan strode forward to join Paul by the glass dome, looking down at the red and white capsules, then pressing a small button, allowing the cover to slide away out of sight. 'As Reggie will have undoubtedly told you, beginning trainers have the option of three pokemon to start with. These...starters, if you will, are the fire-type, chimchar, the water-type, piplup, and finally the grass-type, turtwig. Each have their own unique powers and skills, but it is up to you as their trainer to help them grow and learn to control those abilities. Raising a pokemon is a huge responsibility, Paul. Are you ready for that?'_

_'Yes,' Paul replied instantly._

_'Very well. Then let me introduce you to the pokemon in question...'_

_The professor pressed another hidden button on the metal stand. Simultaneously, all three pokeballs burst open, white light filling the floor at Rowan's feet as three creatures suddenly appeared. The purple-haired boy stared down at them with wide eyes. He'd spent so long contemplating which one to choose, but somehow, meeting the pokemon in the flesh had changed everything. The three pokemon looked back up at him, staring at the boy with hopeful eyes. Paul furrowed his brow, thinking hard._

* * *

_The pair faced each other in the grassy paddock outside Rowan's lab, eyeing each other up carefully._

_'Turtwig, tackle, now!' Paul shouted, holding his hands up together, palms facing outward._

_The tiny grass type sprinted forward, then leapt up at the last second, head-butting it's trainer's hands. Paul shook them quickly, then held them back up, retreating another couple of steps._

_'Again Turtwig, harder!'_

_Turtwig narrowed it's eyes then leapt forward again with more effort, powering it's head into Paul once more. The newly-turned trainer winced as his hands stung from the impact, then shook his head._

_'Come on Turtwig, is that it? Show me a real tackle!'_

_'Twwwiiigggg...' The grass type growled as it ran forward one last time, putting all the power from it's legs into it's jump, tucking it's feet away as it formed into a missile. Paul's eyes widened as the tiny leaf pokemon slammed into his hands, the force knocking him backwards off his feet. The young boy landed on his back, breathing hard, looking up at the sky. A moment later his vision was obscured by Turtwig's face, the small grass type had leapt onto his trainer's stomach. Both human and pokemon stared at each other fiercely._

_'Turt-wwiiigggg!' The tiny leaf pokemon's expression suddenly broke into a look of joy. Turtwig closed it's eyes and nuzzled the young boy's neck happily. Paul broke into a reluctant smile as he gently pushed his pokemon back so he could look it in the eyes._

_'Ok then Turtwig, I guess you'l do...Are you ready to become a champion?'_

_'Twwwiiiggg, turt-wig!'_

A loud snapping noise dragged Paul back to the present. The trainer turned his head to one side, watching in horror as Torterra's ingrained vines started to snap one by one, unable to withstand the power of the elements. The continent pokemon stared down at it's trainer in despair. Paul stared back, his mouth moving, unable to speak as he felt Torterra's weight slowly begin to decrease from his body.

'TEERRRRAAAA!' The continent pokemon roared one last time in denial as the full power of the hurricane began to lift it into the air, it's two remaining vines shaking wildly.

'No!'

Paul reached forward, his hand somehow moving of it's own accord to grab one of the horns at the side of his starter's head. Torterra snapped a startled gaze back to it's trainer. Paul clamped his other hand on his starter's head as well, storm forgotten as he looked up into it's eyes, determination ablaze in his face. Paul yelled at his pokemon, shouting above the noise of the wind.

'We're not done here yet!'

Torterra looked at it's trainer with wide eyes, Paul stared right back, both pokemon and trainer somehow communicating without words.

'TORRR-TEERRRRRRRRAAAAAA!'

Paul cried out in shock as his pokemon suddenly started glowing bright green, beaming light in all directions. Torterra raised it's head back towards the heavens and snarled as three, then five, then a dozen and more vines burst from it's back, hammering into the earth once again, this time too many to count. Paul watched in awe as the density of vines surrounding him formed an almost unbroken wall, protecting him completely from his position underneath the continent pokemon. The hurricane above howled as it tried to snatch the pair up, bringing it's full power to bear, the grass type roared in return and dug it's roots even deeper, refusing to back down. The pokemon trainer looked up through a small gap left by Torterra's vines, unable to believe his eyes.

_How could I have missed this..._

The air cleared around him and with a start of shock, Paul found himself looking up at the eye of the hurricane, a small patch of blue sky shone through the twister's peak, whirling greyness surrounded trainer and pokemon from all sides.

_Torterra, I..._

A ear-shattering shriek coming from high above, same as before, snapped Paul from his thoughts. The pokemon trainer slowly scanned the inner walls of the cyclone searching for it's source, fear starting to bubble up inside once again.

A green reptilian face slowly emerged from high up in the side of the tornado, staring down at the pair with hostile yellow eyes as it opened it's huge jaws, the rest of it's body hidden in the swirling vortex. Paul snatched his hands from Torterra's head to cover his ears as the creature shrieked again, it's cry filled with malice. Torterra roared back, putting all it's strength into it's cry. The terrible hate-filled eyes watched them for a moment longer, before everything turned dark...

* * *

Both occupants of the car heard the loud shriek again, stunned into stopping their desperate struggle. Dawn recovered first, finally ripping from Scott's hold and diving out of the swinging car door.

'Piplup, let's go!' The coordinator screamed. The penguin pokemon leapt out of the car after her, squeaking in a frantic voice as it gestured back towards the wood-line, away from Fuchsia. The blue-haired girl shook her head quickly then scooped up her pokemon as she began to sprint as fast as her legs could carry her towards the city.

'No, Dawn!' Scott swore furiously, then leapt out his car in pursuit.

* * *

Paul slowly opened his eyes. Small specks of sunlight broke through the gaps in the thick wall of roots and vines surrounding him. The sound of laboured panting filled the air, coming from the great weight still pressing down upon him. For a long time, Paul just lay still, concentrating on nothing but his own breathing. It was strange how something so simple, something so taken for granted everyday, could seem like a miracle.

_We made it..._

Paul moved, pushing slightly at his pokemon's underbelly. At once, the roots and vines all around shot back upwards, open air spilling in.

* * *

Dawn stared upwards as she reached the first few ruined houses, watching with wide eyes as huge tornado slowly began to dissipate in front of her, wind dying down completely. Broken brickwork lay all around her, the old fashioned town had not nearly been capable of standing up to the powerful storm. _Not even the centre... _Dawn cried out in shock as she rounded a large pile of rumble, bringing the remains of the pokemon centre into view. The building had completely disappeared, sucked up into the air. Only a small mound of ruined brickwork and turned up earth remained. The blue-haired coordinator came to an abrupt halt, a dead weight falling in her chest. _Oh no, no no no... _Suddenly what she had taken for upturned earth started to move. Dawn watched with wide eyes as Torterra shook itself free for the rumble surrounding it and stood up, a young man with purple hair clambering up next to it. Almost crying with relief, the blue-haired girl stumbled forward.

* * *

'He went to the centre!'

'Yeah...we tried to stop him...then the girl showed up...behind me...raced off after him...couldn't catch her.' Scott panted as he struggled to speak, holding tightly onto Steelix's tail. Lucy looked over her shoulder at him from her position near the steel-type's head with alarm.

'Then we must move quickly, the pokemon centre was right in the path of that storm!' Scott tightened his hold, not trusting himself to reply. He already knew it was too late, there was no way the young trainer could have survived such a disaster.

'Scott!' The frontier guide raised his head in response to the Pike Queen's shout. Lucy raised a arm, pointing directly ahead. With a start, Scott spotted two figures in the horizon, one a large green pokemon with a small tree on it's back, the other a boy with purple hair. Breaking out into a wide grin, the frontier guide sat up on the iron snake's back, pumping his fist in joy.

_Alright, the kid made it!_

* * *

Paul looked all around him in stunned silence. Every building in the immediate area had been sucked into the sky as if it had never existed in the first place. Only scattered stonework and torn up earth remained. As the purple-haired trainer raised his head to the heavens, clouds began to break up above him spilling sunlight through. Paul slowly walked forward a few steps, with a grunt his pokemon lumbered after him, following his gaze. _Why did the storm stop so quickly..? _Paul looked down at Torterra, noticing with a start his hand was resting on his starter's head. _Although I don't think it was a natural storm... _Paul withdrew his hand quickly, stuffing it in a pocket as her remembered the last few moments on the tornado. Torterra looked up into it's trainer's face in surprise. _What was that thi..._

A flash of blue suddenly caught his attention. Paul cried out in surprise as an object suddenly collided into him with great speed, knocking him sideways into Torterra. The continent pokemon grunted, then jumped to one side, causing it's trainer to fall to the ground. Paul was still struggling frantically against the creature that was now wrapping it's limbs around his neck, slowly cutting off his air supply. 'What the, urrgh, get off me, Torterra...' The last call was directed at his pokemon, but Torterra just looked at him with wide eyes.

'Piiipppp-luuuuuppppp!'

A explosion of bubbles erupting from between Paul and his assailant blew them apart. The purple-haired trainer slowly clambered to his feet, holding onto his pokemon for support, cursing as he shook his drenched clothing. A few feet away, Dawn coughed violently, splitting water out of her mouth. Stood between the two, the small penguin pokemon puffed it's chest out angrily in response to almost being crushed, before marching away in a huff to sit behind a nearby unearthed boulder. Dawn wiped her soaking hair from her face and looked up at the purple-haired trainer staring at her in shock. 'Paul! I thought you... I'm so relieved, when I saw that tornado hit I thought... But you're ok! Are you ok? I'm so sorry! I was in Scott's car, you must have passed me...I was so worried!' Dawn broke off, waiting for Paul's reply. The pokemon trainer just stood there, looking at her with a blank expression. 'Um Paul? Are you ok though? You didn't get hurt did you...'

A loud rumbling suddenly interrupted their one-sided conversation. Dawn span around, behind her a huge metallic-looking pokemon snaked it's way towards them, a pair of figures on it's back.

'Hey Paul! Dawn! Are you ok!'

'Scott! We're fine!' Dawn cried back. 'Erm, you are ok aren't you?' She muttered quietly. The trainer behind made no reply as he stared back at her, mouth slightly open. Steelix thundered to a stop with small growl as the humans riding on it's back jumped off to meet the young coordinator.

'Dawn, Paul!'

'Hey Scott, Paul's fine!'

'How on earth did you survive? I'm certain I saw that hurricane hit the pokemon centre!' Lucy exclaimed, amazement in her tone as she looked at Paul. The purple-haired trainer made no reply, not even acknowledging her presence as he continued to stare at Dawn.

'Um Paul? We're all sure glad you got out of there kiddo...' Scott mumbled as he watched the completely silent frontier challenger.

'Paul!' Dawn took half a step towards the trainer, looking at him uncertainly. 'Um, can you, er, talk...?'

'You...'

Dawn jumped a little at the sudden return in conversation. 'Um, what?'

Paul glared at the pokemon coordinator, his face growing redder. 'I thought you went back to the pokemon centre...'

'Well I did...'

'Dawn got held up, my boy,' Scott jumped in quickly, beaming at the pair. 'She arrived just after you, isn't that funny. I told you you should have waited in the car.'

The purple-haired pokemon trainer's jaw dropped open. 'You were in his car...'

'Well, yeah,' Dawn answered nervously, re-taking her step backwards.

'Safe and sound...'

'Well it was a little cold.' Scott jumped in unhelpfully, rubbing his arms.

'While I was down here, stuck in that...'

'Still, live and learn kiddo!' Scott laughed out again. 'So now I think it's high time we...'

'Scott!' Dawn shouted out a warning as she took another step backwards, watching Paul's face grow redder and redder.

'What's the matter, my girl!' Scott cried out, striking a victorious pose, hands on hips as he looked back at her. Dawn gulped as she suddenly noticed that Paul's hands had balled in fists and were starting to shake. Scott followed her gaze, smile drooping a little as he beheld the young man in front of him, now baring his teeth in anger.

'Paul?' Dawn winced as the trainer took a step towards her and opened his mouth to reply. Around her, both frontier brain and guide braced themselves for the following explosion.

It never came. A low chuckle reached their ears. The group looked up in surprise as Paul rubbed his face with a hand, an involuntary laugh escaping his mouth. _Figures. _The pokemon trainer shook his head as he lent back against Torterra, devoid of strength, staring up at the sky. The cloud's had broken apart, bright sunlight was lancing it's way through, spilling onto the city, giving the ruined town a strange sort of beauty. Torterra grunted, then lowered itself down, it's trainer sliding down with it to sit on the ground.

'Um, Paul, are you sure you're ok?' Dawn asked hesitantly. Paul lowered his gaze and stared at her in exasperation, a strange feeling of relief washing through him.

'I'm fine.'

'Well, that's certainly a relief!' Lucy spoke up for the first time in minutes. Paul watched as she turned to a small group of people behind her. 'Now, we need to go help the injured and salvage what we can from this terrible disaster.' Past her, Paul spotted Barbara and a few others from the Pike nodding before dispersing in different directions.

The city had began to fill with flashing lights the emergency services rushed in to help those still trapped by the ruins. Paul remained where he was, content to remain in silence, his brain still processing the recent events. Beside him, Torterra closed it's eyes, falling into a deep sleep. The blue-haired coordinator looked down at him in continued worry. 'Paul? You should go see a doctor or something...'

'I told you, I'm fine.' Paul replied in an even tone. Dawn stared at him, conflicted. _Well, I guess he can take care of himself well enough... but... _'Well if you need anything...' Dawn trailed off as she slowly turned away and began to walk off after Scott, the frontier guide had ran off after the the others to help with the ruined city. Piplup suddenly jumped up from where it had been sulking, squeaking angrily at having been forgotten while it raced after the blue-haired girl.

The Pike Queen watched the blue-haired coordinator walk away then returned her attention to the purple-haired trainer, still sat on the gound next to his pokemon, staring out to space. Lucy shook her head slightly before turning away.

'Lucy.'

The Pike Queen paused in her step, then glanced over her shoulder. Paul looked up, meeting her eyes.

'Yes?'

'I want a rematch.'

Lucy turned around fully, looking back at Paul in surprise. 'I hardly think this is the ti...'

'Not now. Later...whenever you have the time.'

The Pike Queen narrowed her eyes as she beheld the trainer in front of her. 'There is too much work to be done to battle now. Fuchsia need to be re-built and it is my duty to help. Besides...' Lucy paused, hardening her face. 'Why should I grant you a re-match after that last display? I do not welcome pokemon trainers of your kind into my Pike willingly...'

Paul continued to stare at her for a moment, before looking away, out to sea. The water was still smashing against the coast with considerable force, but the height of the waves were slowly decreasing. 'Just give me a chance to prove my real strength.'

Lucy stared at the boy uncertainly. There was something strange about the the way the trainer seemed to be acting. Before Paul had been brash and demanding, but there was no trace of emotion in his voice as he spoke now. The Pike Queen stared at him for a moment longer before replying.

'How do you intend to do that?'

'One on one battle. If I win, you grant me a official re-match in your battle facility,' Paul replied slowly. Lucy followed her challenger's gaze, looking out to sea in contemplation.

'Very well then. But Paul?' The purple-haired trainer turned and stared up at the frontier brain, their roles reversed as Lucy continued to look out to sea. 'You should know though, a lack of strength was never your problem.' With that, Lucy turned and strode away, leaving the pokemon trainer behind her. Paul watched her go, then slowly lowered his gaze to the pokemon sleeping behind him.

_I know..._

* * *

**Chapter 20 will be up very soon. I wanted to add it onto this one, but again it would have made it to big in my opinion. Still on the upside, that means it's almost already written so it won't take me too long to polish it off. As always, feel free to review, I welcome any and all. Although if you do dislike this one, please tell me why. I won't be annoyed I promise, in fact I welcome the help. However posting comments like 'I'm starting to think your first language isn't English.' without a reason does nothing apart from make me laugh. Till next time :)**


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, told you guys it wouldn't be long. It makes more sense anyway as this and the last one where kinda a two parter. I hope you like it!**

* * *

The morning mist still hung in the air, the sky remained crystal clear, as if nature was trying to apologize for the recent events. The ruined dockside by Fuchsia was completely deserted save for one lone figure staring out to sea, watching the red light of the rising sun spread over the sparkling water. As the Pike Queen slowly made her way through the surrounding wreckage, she recognised the figure sat by the lands edge, purple hair hanging low, eyes distant, staring at something other than the horizon. Lucy observed the pokemon trainer carefully as she walked closer.

_He's early...Or has he been here all night?_

'Paul!' The trainer looked around at the sound of her cry, Lucy raised a hand in greeting. 'I wasn't expecting you so early. It would seem you have maintained your habit of turning up when you're not expected.' Her challenger made no reply as he stood up to face her, watching her with thoughtful eyes. The Pike Queen paused, a little uncertain.

_Something's__ different..._

This was not the same arrogant trainer that had faced her yesterday. His outward appearance remained the same, blue jacket, purple hair, worn face. But the way he held himself, his body language was off, strange, not was it used to be. Lucy had sensed something had happened beyond the obvious in the storm yesterday. The Pike Queen watched her opponent carefully, silently noticing she had stopped without meaning to at about the exact distance for an imagery pokemon battlefield to be placed between them.

'Pike Queen Lucy!'

Lucy snapped her gaze up at the pokemon trainer's call, even and measured, resounding in the morning air. _He used my title... interesting. _Before, Paul had generally ignored the title or her position as a frontier brain. 'I am here Paul! Are you ready for our battle?'

'Yes.' From across the field, Lucy watched as the purple-haired boy reached down and pulled a red and white capsule from out under his coat. The trainer held it up, enlarged and ready. 'If I win, will you grant me my request?'

_If? _Lucy noted silently. 'We will battle now then, should you prove yourself worthy, I will grant you a rematch once Fuchsia is re-built. Do you accept those terms?'

'I do.'

The frontier brain nodded once, a smile creeping onto her face. 'Then, let us begin! Steelix! I choose you!'

'Torterra, standby for battle!'

* * *

Paul watched carefully as the enormous steel type burst from his opponent's pokeball. In front of him, Torterra appeared, refreshed from the events of yesterday, giving a low menacing growl at the steelix. The iron snake pokemon snapped it's huge jaws together loudly in return. _Least I have a type advantage..._ Paul thought. Still, with regards to Lucy, it meant little, after all she'd nearly defeated his Aggron with a poison tail. This time he would have to be more cautious.

Paul rubbed his eyes, staring ahead. Being up all night had left him in a dream-like state, the fatigue giving his surroundings a dream-like quality. His head, full of conflicting thoughts all through the night had strangely dissipated with his pokemon's appearance. In the distance, the first ray of sunlight jumped from the horizon, hitting Paul's face as he shouted his first move.

'Torterra, energy ball!'

* * *

Lucy's eyes widened at the first command. _Let's see what you're truly capable of then! '_Steelix, dodge it.' Her pokemon showed remarkable agility for it's size as it moved it's head to one side, letting the green sphere fly harmlessly by. Dimly, the Pike Queen heard her challenger shout a 'leaf storm attack'. Thousands of green razor-sharp leaves flew at her pokemon. 'Steelix, stop that with a sandstorm.'

Paul gritted his teeth as the sandstorm blew away Torterra's attack, then enveloped his pokemon completely. Despite losing sight of his starter, Paul allowed a small sneer to touch the corner of his mouth. _Torterra stood up to the power of a tornado and you think a pitiful sandstorm attack will be enough to beat it? _The real danger was now he couldn't see Steelix and therefore couldn't command his pokemon effectively. _On the defensive then... '_Torterra, ingrain now!'

A muffled roar sounded from the whirling sands, Paul stared forward with a small feeling of satisfaction. Torterra had heard him and at least the damage from the sandstorm was now effectively countered by the health gained from the ingrain. However, as Paul felt the ground beneath him tremor, he realised Lucy was commanding her pokemon to use earthquake, the shout hidden in the rush of the wind. _How can I tell Torterra what to do when even I can't see Steelix? _Another muffled shout came from the centre of the sandstorm. Paul hesitated, then nodded quickly, allowing his pokemon to take over. 'Fine then, Torterra when you see it, take it out with an energy ball!'

Inside the storm, Torterra grunted it's assent, then trained a careful eye on it's surroundings. A shadow moved to it's left. 'Torrr-Teerrrrrraaaaa!' A green ball of energy quickly formed in it's jaws and flew away, disappearing in the sand.

Lucy looked on in shock as the energy ball made contact with Steelix's jaw, snapping the steel-type's head backwards. Steelix groaned in pain, the sandstorm collapsing around it as the steel type lost it's concentration. The Pike Queen stared forwards, looking at the newly revealed Torterra, anchored to the ground by a dozen or so vines. _Impressive... '_Steelix, now dig.'

Across the field, Torterra began to rapidly rip it's roots from the ground of it's own accord as Steelix dived into the earth, panicking as the ground began to rumble beneath its feet. Paul stared forward, calculating. _Torterra's not going to be able to dodge it... _'Torterra, don't bother.'

'Torrr?'

'You'l be fine, I'm not planning on losing.'

'Terrrra.' Torterra relaxed in place, allowing roles to reverse as it's trainer took command once again.

Lucy overheard the exchange, slightly surprised. _His pokemon do actually trust him, despite the way he treats them... _Steelix burst from the earth below the grass-type, sending the it spinning into the air, roots from it's ingrain trailing behind it. 'Crunch it now Steelix.' While the continent pokemon was still in the air, Steelix opened it's jaws wide as if it intended to swallow Paul's pokemon whole. Lucy allowed a small smile.

'Giga drain!'

The trailing roots from Torterra back suddenly found new life, rearing up and ensnaring the steel types head as it moved in to attack. The grass type attached to the side of Steelix's head, the extra weight causing Steelix to nose dive into the dirt. Lucy started, losing her composure briefly as her pokemon began to lose greenish coloured energy through the vines. 'No Steelix, use fire fang now!'

Paul's eyes widened in shock as he watched Steelix twist around on the ground and clamp it's flaming jaws into Torterra's side. _No, not again! _An image of Aggron swallowed up in fire, shot across the pokemon trainer's mind. Lucy seemed to specialise in pokemon that knew moves outside of their type. Paul scowled, a lip curling up his teeth. _Well, it's not going to work this time! '_Torterra throw it off, now!' Torterra roared as it wrenched itself free, then using the vines already wrapped around the steel type's head, threw Steelix back across the field.

Lucy raised one eyebrow in surprise as her pokemon slid to a halt before her. _It actually threw Steelix? Remarkable..._ 'Steelix, time for dragonbreath!'

Refusing to allow the frontier brain to make a comeback, Paul shouted his next command straight after her, 'Stone edge! Aim for the mouth!

Large rocks appeared in a flashes of white light around his pokemon, before jetting towards the steel-type, Lucy's pokemon's attack was quickly stopped before it could start as Steelix found it's mouth full of stones. Paul grinned. The advantage had finally fallen in his favour and he wasn't about to lose it. 'Finish it Torterra, frenzy plant!'

Huge green vines burst from the ground underneath Steelix, the power of the attack so great it flung the steel-type high in the air. Paul watched with satisfaction as Lucy's pokemon fell back to earth, making the ground shake violently, stones cascading from the iron snake pokemon's mouth as it's great iron head slammed into the dirt. Paul raised his gaze to the Pike Queen, a grin of triumph growing on his face. _It's done._ Lucy called over to her motionless pokemon, a small smile re-appearing and growing on her face as well.

'Rise Steelix, I know you've got more, and show us all how powerful you really are.'

Paul stared at the Pike Queen. _She's insane, her pokemon's not getting up after that attack... _To his horror, suddenly the steel-type to his front started to fidget. Inch by inch, the effort involved clear on it's face, Steelix slowly raised it's huge head and glared at Paul and Torterra, one eye closed from the strain.

'No way,' Paul murmured.

Lucy smiled widely, placing one hand on her hip. 'Dragonbreath again Steelix and don't hold back.'

The continent pokemon bellowed in pain as the green fire engulfed it. Even as Paul watched, Torterra's front legs buckled, causing the grass type's head to plough into the floor. _Torterra can't move after frenzy plant! I can't do anything! How did Steelix get back up after that attack? _Torterra's back legs folded as well, the grass-type lay sprawled out on the ground. Steelix maintained the attack, clearly determined to keep going till the battle was won.

* * *

Scott sprinted forward as fast as his legs could carry him. He had heard from Barbara that the frontier brain had agreed last night to have a re-match with her challenger early the following morning, but had not expected it to be this early! Even as he reached the pair, it looked like it was already over. Paul's pokemon was completely engulfed in green fire, Steelix stood tall over it, opening it's jaws as wide as it could, putting all it's strength into it's final attack. With sagged shoulders, the frontier guide looked over at Paul. The young man stared into the floor by his feet, defeat written all over his face.

* * *

Lucy watched her challenger with narrowed eyes. _He's given up on his pokemon again, after all that happened. _Lucy raised her eyes to her pokemon, about to order it to cease it's attack.

'Torterra...'

Lucy started as she heard Paul murmur his pokemon's name. Inside the dragon attack, Torterra half-opened one eye, hearing it's master's voice though it's pain. Scott watched the pokemon trainer carefully, adjusting his sunglasses as he peered forward. _Come on kid, it's not over yet! _Paul raised his head and stared Lucy straight in the eyes, the fire in his eyes making the steel type's attack pale in comparison as he opened his mouth to give Torterra it's command.

'You've got this...'

In the midst of the attack, Torterra lifted it's head off the ground and bellowed at Steelix with fresh determination. Scott exclaimed in surprise as a ball of green energy suddenly grew out of all proportions in front of the grass type's mouth, bursting from and cutting off the dragon attack completely. Across the field, Lucy cried out in shock, taking a step backwards, her pokemon's eyes widened in fear. Charging the largest energy ball it could, pouring all it's remaining power into it's final attack, Torterra gave a final shout of victory as it fired it at Steelix with all it's strength. Scott and Lucy drew a breath as one as the sphere of green light, almost as big as the pokemon that had created it, exploded into the giant steel-type. Lucy watched with an open mouth as Steelix somersaulted through the air, passing right over her head and landed with an earth-shattering crash on the ground behind her, sending mounds of soil and rubble into the air.

Neither side moved for a moment, both trainer's staring towards the downed Steelix, waiting for it to get back up again. Torterra growled menacingly between pants, prepared to launch another energy ball despite it's exhaustion, should the steel-type need putting down again. The grass type opened it's jaw, already starting to draw what little energy it had left forward.

A hand grabbed hold of one of it's head horns, Torterra broke off in surprise, looking sideways at it's trainer. Paul looked forward with narrowed eyes while holding his pokemon, watching as the Pike Queen walked back to her own pokemon and knelt down beside it's head. _Now it's done! _Paul thought as he watched Steelix suddenly disappear in a flash of red. The purple-haired trainer made a small sound of satisfaction, then turned to face his own pokemon.

Torterra stared around at it's trainer, Paul returned the gaze, careful to keep his face expressionless. _I can't believe how powerful that last attack was..._ Paul slowly relaxed his hold on Torterra's horn, letting his hand slowly side across to cup Torterra's face. The grass type hummed in return, closing it's eyes in pleasure. _You had so much power, but I never believed in you before, not really... _

'Paul!' The pokemon trainer snapped his head up, breaking out of his train of thought, Torterra opened it's eyes in surprise. Lucy strode towards the pair. Paul watched carefully, then with another half-glance at his pokemon, began to walk out to meet her.

'Paul.'

'Pike Queen... will you now grant me a re-match? I will not be a waste of your time to battle now as you saw. My pokemon are strong enough to handle anything you bring.'

Lucy made a small sound of amusement as she looked down at her young challenger. 'I told you before, strength wasn't your problem, you just seemed to be confused as to how you should best access it. However...' Lucy suddenly threw a small object at Paul's face. Out of reflex, Paul caught it, suppressing a small gasp as he opened his hand. The Luck symbol shone brightly in his open palm, reflecting the morning sun. 'However... you seem to have learned your lesson.' The Pike Queen nodded once, then turned away.

'Wait!' Paul called after Lucy. 'You don't want a re-match?'

'We just had it,' Lucy called back, pausing as she looked over her shoulder. 'There is too much work to do in Fuchsia right now, I might not be able to battle for several months, which is unfair on you. I ask only one thing in return Paul.' Lucy turned fully around to face the purple-haired trainer. 'The faith you showed in Torterra, show it in all your pokemon. You will be surprised at the results...'

* * *

Paul stared after the frontier brain as she slowly disappeared into the distance, then lowered his gaze to his hand once again. The golden badge was still there, beaming out from his bare palm. Paul closed his hand around it and closed his eyes, allowing a half-grin to form on his face. This had been his hardest symbol yet to obtain, but he had still done it. Only this time it wasn't his victory. Torterra watched as it's trainer walked back up to it, staring down at it with a hard expression. The grass-type lowered it's head slightly as it looked up at it's trainer nervously. For a long moment, both pokemon and trainer stared at each other before Paul slowly lowered himself down to Torterra's level so he could look it straight in the eyes.

'Torterra, what you did just then...' Paul paused, struggling to put his thoughts into words. 'This symbol belongs to you more than it does me. We trained so hard to become strong but...' Paul reached forward hesitantly, grabbing hold of Torterra's face again, his pokemon looking back in shock. 'But somewhere down the line, I forgot it was you and the others that were fighting all these battles, and that you were doing it all for me...' Paul stopped himself, swallowing hard and looking down. 'I can't change who I am. I won't, but...'

'Terra.' The pokemon trainer jumped as Torterra suddenly lent forward and nuzzled the side of his neck. Paul broke into a reluctant smile as he pushed his pokemon back so he could look it in the eye. Both pokemon and trainer stared at each other for a long moment again, a common understanding passing between them. Paul shook his head quickly and stood up, looking around.

'Well Torterra, let's go. We can't sit around here all day, we have a lot of travelling to do. Return now. ' Torterra grumbled it's agreement as the purple haired trainer pulled out a pokeball and turned it to red light. Paul paused as he looked down at the pokeball in his hand, before replacing it back on his belt. _Thank you..._

'Hey Paul!' Paul jumped violently, then turned round cursing. Scott stood a few feet away, beaming at him as he stretched his arms and yawned. 'Good work my boy! I knew you'd crack it eventually!'

Paul stared back at him, running a hand through his hair as he did. _How the hell does he always manage to sneak up on me? _'Yes, well thanks.'

'No worries kiddo.' Scott stopped stretching and tilted his head to look past Paul, out to the sea. 'So, on to the next one I take it? The Palace is waiting for you Paul, just over that sea...'

Paul followed his gaze over the water, comprehension dawning as he suddenly remembered why he was here. An image of Brandon and the Battle Pyramid flashed through his mind. The purple-haired boy nodded sharply, face hardening. 'Right.'

'Although, you won't be able to catch the ferry now...' Scott continued doubtfully. 'Wait, I know!' The frontier guide snapped his fingers loudly, a wide grin appearing on his face again. 'There are several fishing villages along the coast. If you travel along them long enough, I'm sure you can get a lift to the Seafoam Islands. And once you get there...' Scott spread his arms wide, looking up at the sky in triumph. '...You'll be able to catch a ship to Metallica island! Ferries commonly roll around those islands, it's guarenteed!'

Paul watched the frontier guide, bemused by his enthusiasm. 'Erm right, thanks, I'll do that.'

'Alrightly then!' Scott leaned towards the young trainer and adjusted his sunglasses, a confident grin on his face. 'Then I will see you there. Later, Paul my boy!' Ignoring the trainer's shocked expression, Scott turned away and strolled back through the half-destroyed town.

Paul stared after the frontier guide for a moment before sighing and turning back to look over the water. _He's right, time to get moving again, I've spent too long here. Brandon's waiting. _With fresh determination in his step, Paul set off, heading east along the ocean's edge.

* * *

'He left!'

'Yeah... right after the battle. I only just caught the back end of the re-match. Seems Lucy agreed to meet Paul early that morning. From what I understand when I spoke to him afterwards, he intended to catch the boat he needed further up the coast.'

'Oh.' It was the only response Dawn could muster as she looked up at the frontier guide. Scott smiled down at her sympathetically.

'I'm sure he just forgot to say goodbye, it was probably because he was excited about winning the match...

'Ok. No need to worry.' Dawn stared at her feet. _Why do I care anyway? _

Scott walked over to the window, staring out to sea. The pair had travelled back to the Battle Pike to stay the previous night at Lucy's invitation, since Fuchsia pokemon centre was now no longer available. Paul had travelled back with them initially, but had disappeared soon after arriving and healing his pokemon, refusing to even stop the night and giving no reason for his departure. 'So Dawn, I hear you are quite the coordinator. I never really got into watching those contests, but I hear-

'Where was he going?' Dawn interrupted suddenly.

Scott turned back to look at the blue-haired girl in surprise. 'Erm well, he headed east... As I said, I think he was planning on catching a boat from the fishing villages a little further down the coast. See, the port here can't allow ships to harbour at the moment so I think he planned to-

'Can you say here and keep an eye on Piplup for me? I need to go get something.' Dawn quickly interrupted again. Her pokemon was still upstairs sleeping.

'Why sure little lady, course I can but why...' Scott trailed of as his young friend suddenly rushed out of the door in a flash of blue. The frontier owner stared after her for a moment before a smile slowly began to spread across his face.

* * *

Paul watched impatiently as the small crew got their rusty vessel ready. Not his first choice, but it would suffice. The captain had agreed to drop him off at the first of the seafoam island ports for a small price. From there, he would catch a ocean ferry, riding it until it finally came to Metallica island, right at the far end of the Seafoam Islands, just below Cinnabar. And there he would challenge and defeat the next frontier brain. Paul closed his eyes and shoved his hands back into his pockets. Considering everything that had happened, he would be glad to leave this place behind him.

'Hey Paul!'

The purple-haired trainer snapped open his eyes, not moving. _She can't have..._

'Paul!' Paul span around as the blue-haired coordinator came to a breathless halt in front of him. Dawn leaned on her knees gasping.

'What are you doing here?' Paul demanded quickly. Dawn looked up, regaining her composure.

'Well I came to see you leave actually... It wasn't easy finding you here. You know you could have at least said goodbye before you left,' Dawn admonished.

Paul stared at her for a moment before turning away to watch the sailors again. 'I was in a rush.'

'Doesn't excuse bad manners.' Dawn stared at the pokemon trainer. Paul remained silent, looking out to sea. 'Anyway, I just want to say thank you... you risked your life to try and save me-'

'Hmph. Despite the fact there was actually no reason,' Paul interrupted while closing his eyes, still facing the sea.

'You didn't know I was safe in Scott's car, you thought I was trapped in the pokemon centre and if I had been, I would have been just as grateful,' Dawn quickly replied. 'And I'm sorry for hitting and shouting at you before. You deserved it but still...' The blue-haired girl paused for a moment before continuing. 'You know, I don't think you're nearly as mean and selfish as you pretend to be...Scott and Lucy told me about the battle you know...' Dawn trailed off into silence, searching the young trainer's blank expression.

Paul opened his eyes and looked sideways back into the female coordinator's face. She had been nothing but a nuisance from the moment they'd started travelling together. Paul had always travelled alone and always would. Other people would hold him back, let him down, betray his trust. If there was anything Paul had learnt in his life, it was that he could rely on no one but himself. Even Reggie had to be kept at an arms length. He would trust his pokemon a little more from now on, he had learned that lesson well. But apart from that, he was right. He had never needed anyone and no one had ever helped him on his journey when they didn't have to. _Except for..._

'So I guess you're heading for you're next frontier challenge...' Dawn piped up again in a feeble attempt to reignite the conversation.

'Are you done yet?' Paul turned fully around and glared at the blue-haired girl. Dawn took half a step back, shocked at the abrupt response.

'Am I..?'

'I mean are you finished, or do you actually have anything important to say? I don't have time to waste here listening to some coordinator babble on about nothing!'

Dawn took another step back, hurt crossing her face. 'I only wanted to say thank yo-'

'And I'm not interested. If it wasn't for you, I would never have been in that storm. The only reason I was, was because I thought you'd be stupid enough to get caught in it!' Paul had no idea where the sudden anger was coming from, but he knew for some reason, he couldn't stand the sight of the blue-haired coordinator a moment longer. 'So if that's all you came for, you might as well go back now.'

Dawn stared at the pokemon trainer, then slowly lowered her gaze to her feet. 'Oh...ok. I'm sorry Paul... I thought...'

'You thought what?'

'I thought I was wrong about you!' Dawn snapped her head back up shouting. 'But you're just the same as ever! No need to worry Paul! I won't be bothering you ever again!' Before Paul had a chance to reply, Dawn span back around and marched away. Fuming, the pokemon trainer turned around and walked to the small fishing boat, ignoring the sniggers from the crew. The captain, a smallish man with a rough beard and a grin on his face strolled forward.

'Hey kid, trouble in paradise?' Paul glared at him before replying.

'Let's go.'

The man chuckled. 'Very well, Simon release the line!' A younger man with his front teeth missing began to untie the rope holding the boat to the shore. Paul turned around, looking up the coast, but the blue-haired coordinator had disappeared into the country. The boat slowly began to creep out to sea leaving the coast behind it...

* * *

'Sir, project Y2 has disappeared.'

A low voice spoke into a radio transmitter. The voice, belonging to a women with long golden hair, narrowed her eyes thoughtfully as she stared out to sea. From her vantage point, high up on a nearby hill hidden in the trees, the golden-haired female could see all of the devastation that the recent weather had caused. The old-fashioned town had been nearly destroyed, every building slowed signs of damage. A almost perfect strip of bare earth and scattered rubble, almost two hundred metres wide, stretched from the sea to where Fuchsia pokemon centre had once stood, further evidence of the huge tornado that had run rampant through the city only yesterday. However as the female searched the sky, she could see no trace of the storm that nearly destroyed the coastal town. 'Subject was last seen moving south,' she continued. 'All traces of the usual weather patterns following it seem to have disappeared though...'

A low voice, crackling slightly as it emitted from the radio replied, 'Yes, we're tracking it now. Subject appears to be circling the seafoam islands.'

'Orders sir?' The women asked instantly.

The voice paused for a moment before speaking, 'Follow it. Proceed to the islands by any means. Further instructions will follow. Out.' The hand-held radio emitted a low squeal as the communicator on the other end was turned off. The women quickly switched off her radio and turned to look at the man laid behind her. A crop of light green hair covered one eye as he looked back at her questionably.

'Pack up Bill. We're moving.'

The man scowled as he climbed to his feet. 'After all these years, you still can't get my name right...'

The pair rushed around their little hideout, disassembling it quickly.

* * *

**That's it, chapter 20 done and dusted, on to the next one. I'd be interested to hear your comments on this one, this and the last chapter where actually pretty hard to write, what with the changes I tried to make in Paul's character and all. Please review if you have anything to say :). No 21 will be out probably early next week.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hi guys. Been a while since I updated I know and I'm sorry about that. To be honest, I've been lacking motivation continue this story, one because I've been busy a with a few other things to concentrate anything other than writing a few one-shots and two, after reading through it again, I wasn't sure I was doing this story justice. Before anything else, I'd like to say a massive thanks to a guest reviewer named 'Hermes'. If you're reading this, thanks a lot for your review, I really appreciate the time you took into writing it. That's what really motivated me to write this one. However, I hope you don't mind if I don't post them because to be honest, you've written several ideas that I already had about what to do in the next section of the story _and_ you've also given me more ideas about what to do in the future and I wouldn't want to give anything away. So again, thanks a lot! Right anyway, back to the chapter. This one will be a little less exciting, but I'm hoping to shed light on some parts of Paul's and other's characters in this one, as well as cover a couple of holes I noticed when reading back through it. I might even consider re-writing a few of the older chapters when I have time, but for now I'm keeping it as is. Okay Chapter 21, let's go!**

* * *

'Machoke, use seismic toss!'

'Charmeleon, slide in!'

The fire pokemon stopped it's charge mid-stride and lent backwards, it's own momentum allowing it to slide the final distance towards the fighting type on it's back, feet first. The superpower pokemon grabbed at empty air, grasping at the space the flame pokemon had occupied a moment before.

'Now, slash uppercut!'

It's clawed feet fighting purchase on the wooden decking, Chameleon bought it's slide to a abrupt halt, right underneath Machoke, then rocketed upwards, driving a glowing claw into the fighting-type's chin. Machoke cried out in pain as the attack took it off it's feet into the air.

'Finish this with dragon rage!'

Instantly following through on the slash, the flame pokemon opened it's jaws wide and fired a large ball of orange-coloured energy after it's opponent. The trainer opposite gasped as the dragon attack collided with his pokemon while it was still flying backwards, giving Machoke more momentum and causing it to crash into the ceiling of the room. Both trainers watched, one with horror and the other with mild satisfaction as the fighting-type fell back to the ground heavily, eyes turning into swirling spirals. It's trainer, a middle-aged man wearing a white sailor's outfit and a blue bandana, groaned loudly.

'Aww man, all three! I don't believe this...'

Across the other side of the room, Paul suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. True, his Charmeleon had taken out all three of his challenger's pokemon in a row, but it was hardly surprising, his first two pokemon had been a Machop and a Tentacool. Almost predictably however, his tentacool had lacked the ability to use any water attacks and since Charmeleon had already defeated a machamp trained by a frontier brain, defeating both Machop and Machoke had been relatively easy, especially with this opponent's apparent lack of skill.

Paul sighed and ran a hand through his hair as he walked towards his pokemon. It had been like this for almost a week now, every since he'd come aboard the cruise liner circling round the Seafoam Islands. Unfortunately, the ship was taking a longer route than the pokemon trainer would have liked, stopping off at almost every port littered around the cluster of islands for a day or shorter, giving the hundreds of tourists aboard time to do some sightseeing on each of the Island's various settlements. So to pass the time, Paul had thrown himself into training his pokemon, either aboard or ashore as the circumstances permitted. However, the cruise liner was not outfitted for, or indeed meant to house pokemon trainers, therefore had a no functioning pokemon centre, and while they had video telephones available, no pokeball teleporter. This meant training was going slower than usual in order allow his team to recover by natural means in-between each intense training session, instead of by the usual artificial methods. Furthermore, with the high number of tourists aboard, even finding a suitable place to train on board had been difficult. That was, until the pokemon trainer had found his current location.

Paul pulled Charmeleon's pokeball from his belt as he reached the flame pokemon.

'That dragon rage is looking a lot better Charmeleon, but it still not strong enough. I told you before, charge it in your jaws for longer before firing it, don't just concentrate on speed.'

Charmeleon continued to face at the defeated Machoke as he spoke, but Paul could see it watching him out of the corner of it's eye as he admonished it sternly. Paul waited until his pokemon gave a small, sharp nod.

'Return now,' Paul raised the pokeball in his hand. 'And good work,' the pokemon trainer added quickly as his pokemon turned into red light.

* * *

The sailor scowled at him from the other side of the room as he knelt next to his motionless pokemon, in a corner, several others were muttering quietly. Paul shook his head slightly in exasperation, then turned and walked away to a small ladder in the opposite corner, leading up to a wooden trapdoor in the ceiling. _Time for some fresh air._

Truth was, Paul would prefer training on his own, his own pokemon pitted against each other would be of far more benefit that anything these sailors had to offer. However, the ship's storage rooms underneath the surface had proved the only suitable place, the only place big enough and empty of the general public to practice pokemon attacks. And as Paul had quickly found out, he wasn't the first to discover this. The ship's workers and sailors also used this place to relax and battle the pokemon they caught during their long sea voyages. And they had been none too happy to see him, never leaving him alone, insisting on battling him one after the other.

_So long as I keep beating them, they can't complain..._ It had meant though, he'd spent more time battling the ship's crew than training on his own. Still, there was no such thing as bad training.

The main part of the ship was just as crowded, only this time with hundreds of excited civilians. Paul wearily climbed a heavily furnished staircase as he manoeuvred round several large families and various other people, all with several common factors, two of which where that almost all dressed in expensive clothing and spoke with a upper-class accent. Not to mention the way they walked, strutting around as if each one of them personally owned the entire ship. It made sense though, Paul thought as he made his final assent to the open decking at the front of the ship. These round-the-world cruises didn't come cheap, indeed Paul had had to dig in deep into his own savings to be admitted aboard and he was only travelling a short leg of the journey. Most of these passengers, he knew, would be saying aboard the ship after it left Metallica and Cinnabar, riding aboard it as it circled the Sevvi and Orange Islands, then moving further south.

_Still, who cares... _Paul thought as he finally emerged into bright sunlight. _Another few days of this at most and I'll be able to claim my next frontier symbol. _ Paul breathed out deeply as he strolled over to the edge of the ship, walking carefully around the dozens of occupied deck chairs filling every available space, and lent against the white safety railings at the side of the ship, watching as the huge liner powered it's way through the water.

The sky shone crystal clear, no hint of the weather that had plagued it only a week before. Paul suppressed a shudder as he thought back to that day in Fuchsia. The pokemon trainer hadn't forgotten what had appeared in the heart of the tornado. Indeed, any time he'd not spent training, Paul spent pouring through his pokedex, looking up every pokemon he had ever seen, trying to figure out what it had been. After travelling through all four different regions, Paul liked to think he had a good grasp on most pokemon, at least being able to recognise most on sight without having to reach for a pokedex, but this time he was stumped. The real problem was, with only a half-glimpse to go by, it was difficult to narrow it down what it could be, whether by type or colour or species.

_Whatever that thing was, if it was powerful enough to create such a storm, then I don't want to run into it again any time soon. _

Paul shook his head, clearing the thought from his mind. Until he could find some answers, there was no point guessing. The trainer instead concentrated on his surroundings.

In the distance behind the cruise liner, a small strip of land broke the perfect line between the sky and the horizon. They had left the latest Seafoam Island early that morning. Paul hadn't even bothered going ashore, the small scattered hamlets that occupied the small land masses held no interest to him and they hadn't stayed long enough for him to disembark to train on shore rather than on ship. Ahead, the sea stretched off into the distance. Cinnabar Island would come into view in the next few days. Then after that, south to Metallica and the Palace. Paul involuntarily tightened his hold on the railings. _I hope you're ready Brandon. I'm getting close..._

* * *

_'Drapion, brick break!'_

_Paul's large purple pokemon launched itself at the rock creature, only to get dashed away before it could attack again. Paul looked up at his opponent in desperation, only to see him just standing there, arms crossed, unmoved, as hard and as cold as the pokemon he commanded. _

_'Cross poison now!'_

_A desperation move, but nothing had worked so far and maybe, just maybe, the after-effects would linger, giving him an opening to..._

_No. __The pokemon was still unmoved, unaffected by anything it had sustained. The purple cross simply washed over it, leaving no after-mark. Paul switched his gaze back to his opponent again, now staring at him hatefully, suddenly despising the man who had destroyed his entire team, who had destroyed his entire life in only one battle. In front of him, the large poison type flinched as it stared fearfully at the legendary pokemon apposing it._

_Paul bared his teeth. This couldn't end so easily! He wouldn't allow it, it wasn't possible, not after all his hard work, after every step he had taken, it had to amount to something more than this! Paul punched forward with one hand, both fists clenched tightly._

_'Drapion brick break again! We can do this!'_

_Drapion lunged forward, pincers glowing in one last desperate effort._

_'Focus punch Regirock.'_

_Paul shouted out in panic at the sound of his opponent's quietly spoken command, as the rock pokemon suddenly span one of it's huge arms round it's body, as it slammed it into Drapion with incredible force. The result was instantaneous._

_Drapion was floored._

_Paul stared forward in stunned disbelief, his breath ragged as he stared at his pokemon, his brain unable to comprehend why it wasn't getting back up, why it wasn't making a comeback and defeating his opponent. Why, like all the rest, had it fallen without defeating any at all..._

_'NO!'_

_Paul snapped his terrified gaze back up. Regirock had disappeared, all that remained was his opponent._

_'No. You challenged me and I truly did enjoy our battle today! But the fact remains that your battling style is little more than standard ordinary affair...'_

_Paul gaped forward, staring at the man who had just reduced his whole life's work to nothing, who had just belittled all his efforts with a single phrase. And then came the words. The words that Paul somehow knew where coming, but still stuck to the very bone._

_'Now where is your true inner strength!'_

_Paul fell to his knees as his world crashed around him. He knew the answer already. And the worse part was, there was no denying it. __Because he was here. __Paul should have agreed to this battle alone. But he had insisted, and relenting Paul had agreed, knowing how excited he was about seeing Paul cross his final hurdle in the Battle Frontier._

_Paul raised his face higher to stare into the eyes of the blue-haired, ten year old boy sat by himself in the stands with a small grass pokemon stood to one side, knowing full well what the consequences would be, knowing that the look of disappointment, the look of devastation he was now receiving would haunt him forever._

_'Reggie... I'm sorry...'_

* * *

Paul snapped awake, bolting upright, thrashing in the silk covers in complete darkness, his frantic heartbeat going wild in his chest before he slowly began recognise his surroundings once again. His private cabin, same as it had been for the last six days, stood around him in gloomy shadow. Paul forced his breathing back to normal, staring around, making doubly sure no one, no thing was near, before bringing his knees into his chest and bringing both hands up to cup his face.

That had been a bad one.

The dreams that had plagued him on and off since his defeat at the Sinnoh league, had come back with a vengeance. Every night since he'd left the remains of Fuchsia city. Most nights hadn't been so bad, the odd flashing image of a battling pokemon flickering across his subconscious, but this night it had been something else. And it hadn't even been his battle.

_'But the fact remains that you're battling style is little more than standard ordinary affair...'_

Paul took deep breaths, dropping his hands and staring at his gloomy surroundings with a fevered interest, looking for anything that would distract him from his circuling thoughts.

_'Now where is your true inner strength?'_

Paul swore angrily, throwing away his covers and climbing out of his bed as fast as he could, forcing his way into his clothes and shoes, grabbing his jacket off the back of the door, before ripping it open and slamming it behind him.

He needed some air.

* * *

The top decking was now almost completely empty, one tourist remained snoring loudly as he lay on the a deck chair in his trunks with his mouth wide on, another man stood by the railings by the very front of the ship, staring out into the night air. Paul ignored them both, simply quietly moving to the far side as far away as possible, before leaning over the railings at the edge of the boat, staring into the waters. The sea had changed again, becoming a little more choppy in the few hours he'd been asleep, Paul noticed as he leaned over the railings, watching the waves below with a forced interest. The trainer continued to stare out into the night sky, but the frustrating fact was that the darkness and the night's silence simply did nothing to hold his attention. Against his will, Paul's thoughts began to drift back to his dream.

For lack of a better description, it had been a odd one; Paul decided. When pokemon training occupied every waking moment, Paul had come to accept it was impossible for his mind not to wander down the same tracks as he slept. Even his dreams with Brandon could be explained, after all Paul had now invested almost two months of his life now into this venture, travelling, collecting frontier symbols with the sole intention of battling the Pyramid King at the end. It would be surprising if he _didn't _dream about it once in a while. Even before he'd lost at the Sinnoh League, Paul had spent more than one restless night reliving his battle with the frontier brain. But, never before had he dreamt a battle that he had never participated in, never before had he stood in someone else's shoes as they fought. And that certainly included his brother's. And as much as Paul tried to deny it, even to himself, the experience had shook him badly.

The battle had been so desperate, Paul had lived through every moment of it, in more detail than he could remember even awake. Their roles had been somehow reversed, up in the stands, Paul had watched his own defeat, living through every crushed hope his brother had suffered during that day he had faced Brandon. Paul clenched his teeth, grip tightening on the railing as he gazed out into the water, not really seeing any of it, trying to make sense of this new feeling welling up inside him. Was it empathy for his brother he was feeling right now? Certainly, Paul could understand how he'd felt after that battle, Paul had felt something similar as he'd lost to Brandon himself, then to Ash in the quarter-finals of the Sinnoh League. Even more recently when he'd lost against Lucy the first time, over a week ago. But it was more than that, now he allowed himself to think about it, after all that battle was the whole reason why Paul was here in the first place.

It had been disappointment at the time, the native trainer that he was back then hadn't been able to understand how his brother, so big and strong, had lost at all. But soon after the shock had faded, the disappointment turned to disgust, watching as his brother gave up on his path as a trainer completely, even trading away half of his highly-trained pokemon to other trainers for 'their own good'. Without challenging the frontier brain to a _single_ re-match. But then again, that had been the true difference between the two brothers from the start. Paul didn't give up after a loss, he used that knowledge and motivation to come back stronger than ever.

But still, Paul wondered as he searched the dark waters below him, was that even true? After all, what had he learned from his recent loss this time? In truth, Paul hadn't allowed himself to ponder too much on what had happened in his re-match with Lucy for fear of what he might realise. At the time, he'd thought he'd begun to understand something, but in the past week, it had re-descended back into utter confusion once again. And going back even further, what had he learnt after losing to Ash and Brandon? Had those losses truly made him stronger now? At the time, it had been easy to put those failures down to a difference in experience or a superior strategy or even just simple misfortune. Lucy and Dawn had believed his loss had been down to a lack of bond between his pokemon, even Paul had wavered for a moment, the events of Fuchsia somehow managing to not only break apart the city, but crack away temporarily at his own beliefs. And despite, even now wanting to deny it, the results had been clear to see. Torterra had shown a power not even Paul had believed possible. And the only reason seemed to be, like it or not, Paul's brief unexplainable faith in his starter at the point of defeat during the storm and the battle.

Paul scowled down at the lapping water, his mind rolling in turmoil, as if a dam he'd built after leaving the mainland had now begun to crack.

Torterra commanded the most respect within his team. While in the past, usually during a fit of rage after losing a League tournament, Paul had taken to releasing dozens of his defeated pokemon. But he had never once thought of releasing his starter. Why? Torterra, almost without exception, had always pulled it's weight and pulled through in most of it's battles. Because of that, Paul was usually willing to allow his starter a little more free reign in battles than the others. But that wasn't the problem, the problem was if Torterra had this power inside all this time, then how come had he never witnessed this power before in over four years? Had Torterra been holding back on him this whole time, like Chimchar once held back it's Blaze ability? Surely impossible, he would have noticed. Or, as Lucy said, had he been simply going about the wrong way of _accessing_ it all this time?

But if it truly was a lack of bonding with his pokemon that was holding him back, Paul argued with himself, then how had Reggie lost? Despite all his brother's preachings about trust and friendship, Reggie had still lost to Brandon himself, perhaps even more badly so than he had. The Pyramid King had not even used all three regis in the process of eliminating Reggie's entire team. So Paul's method of training pokemon had failed and Reggie's unshakable bond with his team had _also failed,_ did this mean there was there no way of defeating Brandon at all?

_Ash beat Brandon though..._

With a sigh, Paul released one hand from the railing and rubbed his face. That was the crux of it. Brandon was clearly beatable. His old-time Sinnoh rival had already proven it. A trainer that did nothing other than harp on about how the trust between trainer and pokemon was the key to bringing out it's true power. A trainer, by every logical argument, who was an inferior opponent. Yet had defeated the Pyramid King and Paul himself at his best. So was it only some trainers this so-called bond worked for? Maybe that was the true reason Reggie had never re-challenged Brandon and became a breeder and a carer of pokemon, maybe he believed, absurd as it was, that his bond with his pokemon was too weak to over-come Brandon's team of legendaries.

Paul growled, shoving himself off the railings and spinning round to march back into the main part of the ship.

_There's only one way to find out..._

* * *

'Beep beep, beep beep.'

Paul stared intently at the blank video screen, tapping his fingers in impatience.

'Beep beep, beep beep.'

He didn't really know why he was here, or where this was truly coming from. It made no difference to his path after all, one way or another. Paul had decided on his methods a long time ago and nothing could, or would change that.

'Beep beep, beep beep.'

_Where would he go at this time of night? _Paul grunted, frustrated, his lack of sleep adding to his annoyance. But he was here now and he wasn't going to leave without some kind of answer. The answer to the question his brother had always skirted around.

'Beep beep, beep be-'

'Finally!' Paul snarled, leaning forward as his brother's face suddenly filled the screen. 'I was wai...'

'PAUL!'

The purple-haired trainer jumped with shock, flinching backwards as his brother's shout echoed around the small conference room. Reggie leaned forwards, his face furious as it cut off any of the background picture.

'Where the _hell _have you been!'

'Er what?' Paul stammered. He hadn't been expecting this.

'Don't give me what! Don't you know how worried I've been?'

'I have no idea what your talking about.' Paul stated stony-faced, hiding the small feeling of apprehension.

Reggie glared at his brother with a mixture of fury and exasperation.

'Oh, I don't know Paul...What was top news concerning a destroyed city six days ago? Where were you a week ago? Come on Paul, put it together, it's not hard!'

_Oh..._

'If you're talking about the storm...'

'Yes, I'm talking about the storm!' Reggie snapped back. On closer inspection of his brother, Paul could see dark bags of skin hanging under his bloodshot eyes, his whole face seemed lined with fatigue. 'I didn't even know if you were alive! Lucy wouldn't answer my calls, Scott kept cutting off...'

'I'm fine,' Paul interuppted quickly

'Oh, thanks for telling me... six days sooner would have been too much to ask of you though, wouldn't it?'

'I said I'm fine!' Paul repeated, this time a little more firmly. It was very unusual for his brother to raise his voice about anything and Paul suddenly realised he didn't like it much. Still he couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt. For Reggie to be this upset meant it had effected him badly.

'I can look after myself Reggie. I have over four region's worth of experience you know...'

Through the screen, Paul watched as his brother sighed, rubbing his face with one hand, all anger draining from his face. 'I know you can look after yourself Paul. Everyone knows you don't need or want anyone's help. But you're still my brother and when things like this happen, you can't expect me not to worry about you! I mean, they said that there were hurricanes and everything, they even showed footage of Fuchsia on the tv all the way over here in Sinnoh, you could have been dead for all I know...'

_You have no idea..._Paul thought, suppressing a wince as he remembered the final moments in the tornado on the beach before interrupting again, this time feigning nonchalance as he lied.

'Well, I'm not. I'm fine, so you can stop your worrying. I wasn't anywhere near the storm anyway, I'd already left by the time it hit.'

Reggie sighed, relief passing briefly across his face. 'Good. And Dawn? Is she okay too?'

'She's fine.'

'Is she there?'

'No.' Paul paused, unwilling examine that particular memory. 'She's not.'

'Where is she?'

'We parted ways,' Paul replied simply, putting a small amount of force into his words. Reggie seemed to take the hint.

'Oh okay. Where are you anyway?'

'On my way to Metallica. I'm travelling round the Seaform Islands as we speak.'

'Right. So I take it you won the Luck symbol?'

Paul fished around in his jacket pocket before pulling out a golden badge and holding it up to the screen. His brother gave a sharp nod in acknowledgement, then seemed to pause for a moment before continuing.

'So, who do you want sending?'

Paul stared at his brother confused, his eyebrows knitting together. 'What?'

'Which pokemon do you want me to fetch? I assume you are calling because you want to swap around some of your team again?'

'No.' Paul paused, glancing down, suddenly uncertain about how to approach the subject he had called about. Before, he _had_ intended to simply demand it outright as soon as his brother picked up the call, but the brief argument seemed to have somehow thrown him off balance.

'No?'

Paul looked back up as brother continued, watching the corner of his mouth as it twitched slightly towards something that might be a considered a smile.

'You _didn't_ call me to swap one of your pokemon? Don't tell me this is one of your non-existent personal calls?'

'I...' Paul paused again, hesitating. Did he really want to risk Reggie getting angry again? Was the answer really worth anything anyway?'

'Paul?' Reggie's face started to mould into a look of concern. 'Are you sure you're okay?'

'I just I wanted to ask you...'

'Ask me what Paul?' Reggie replied, a hint of curiosity now starting to reach his eyes. Paul hesitated again, then abruptly changed his mind.

'It doesn't matter. Forget I said anything. Goodbye Reggie.' Paul reached forward to cut the transmission.

'Paul wait! Don't hang up. If you're calling in the middle of the night like this, then it's obviously about something serious. Let me help...' Reggie paused, leaning forward again. 'Is this about Dawn?' he added, almost as an afterthought.

'What?' Paul snapped a startled gaze back to his brother. 'No! It's nothing at all to do with her!'

'Oh.' Reggie seemed to pause again. 'Well tell me then, I think it's the least you can do after the week you just put me through.'

'Why did you never re-challenge Brandon?'

* * *

The answer had come almost unbidden from Paul's lips, as if it had been fighting to escape. And judging by his brother's face, had been the last one he'd been expecting.

'W,what?'

'Why did you never challenge Brandon again?' Paul repeated, making a split-second decision to push ahead now the potential damage had been done. 'And I want the real answer this time Reggie, not the usual 'I wasn't ready' speech. You've had almost four years now to become ready, yet you still haven't re-issued a challenge to the Battle Pyramid, despite the fact you have the right as the holder of six symbols to do it any time you choose. Why just give up and become a breeder?'

With a small sense of anticipation, Paul watched his brother fumble around for an answer.

'I t,told you Paul, I _wanted _become a breeder, that's why...It has nothing to do with Brandon...'

'Don't lie to me!' Paul snarled, leaning forward. 'Four Leagues, eight years of training and you suddenly decide to give it all up, claiming you only just realised you'd rather become a breeder. And funnily enough, this so-called epiphany comes almost immediately after losing at the Battle Pyramid. Don't treat me like an idiot Reggie, I want to know!'

'Why do you care anyway?' Reggie replied, his voice growing sharp, his face suddenly hardening uncharacteristically. 'What difference does it make to you?'

'I care because I'm on my way face the very same man who somehow managed to break your spirit in a single battle!'

'My spirit isn't broken Paul,' Reggie shot back, his tone starting to rise again. 'I'm just taking a different path to the one you are. Not everyone is meant to be a trainer, you know. Doesn't make my profession any less important than yours!'

'Right.' Paul replied sarcastically. 'So I suppose all that trainer stuff beforehand was just for fun then? Just something to pass the time while you found your _true _proffesion.'

'Who cares what is was for!' Reggie replied angrily. 'It was my choice to make Paul!'

'Really? So you think you would have become a breeder even if you'd won that match, do you?'

'I...'

Reggie spluttered for a moment through the screen. Paul stared back at him with a look of disgust.

'Let me tell you what I think. What I always thought. I think you just gave up. And to save yourself the shame of being a failure all your life, you immediately latched on to the first idea that came into your head. A_ breeder..._' Paul paused for a moment to catch his breath, sneering down at his shocked sibling's face. 'If becoming a breeder was your true calling, then why do you keep all your badges out on display? Enjoy re-living the glory days do you? I suppose that's the reason you get upset if I don't call for a while. Kind of hard, re-living your dreams through your little brother if he doesn't even speak to you...'

'Don't you speak to me like that. You don't know anything.'

'Like what?'

'You don't know what it was like!' Reggie snapped, suddenly shouting through the screen.

'What don't I know?' Paul yelled back, now determined not to back down. 'I lost to Brandon too, remember?'

'Not like I did...' Reggie answered bitterly, an ugly look now crossing his face.

* * *

Paul lent back in his chair while crossing his arms, his face still furious as he silently waited for his brother to elaborate. Reggie took a long deep breath as he hid his face in his hands.

'Well?'

'It was the cumulation of everything I'd worked for Paul...' his brother mumbled through his fingers. 'I was the best I'd ever be, and he just swept me aside with _ease..._'

'So why not try again?' Paul immediately shot back, refusing to take pity on his older brother. 'Like I do. Like I'm _doing..._'

'Because I knew I'd never be good enough!' Reggie yelled, dropping his hands and glaring at Paul. 'You obviously remember that battle as well as I do! Eight years of training and experience and I don't even land a scratch! And to be told at the end of it that I was nothing more than another ordinary trainer with a stupid dream, do you think I wanted to risk going through that again? Do you even have any idea how that felt?'

_More than you know... _Paul couldn't help thinking. However, he still refused to let up on his brother now he had come so close to finding a true answer after all these years of false smiles. 'A trainer can always get stronger. If you'd dedicated your time accordingly instead of just giving up, you might have done better if you challenged him now...'

'It wouldn't be enough,' Reggie replied, his voice re-acquiring it's bitter edge. 'Yes I could have trained, but it wouldn't have made a difference because it wasn't my pokemon that were the problem. It was me. And you know that as well as I do. Don't sit there like you know better. And if I couldn't beat Brandon, what hope would I have against the true elites? So, instead of moping and trying to put off the inevitable failure that I knew was now waiting for me, I chose to make something of my life. Something that I can do well, that doesn't require me to compete with others in order to excel. What's wrong with that?'

Paul stared at his brother for a long moment, his brother returning the stare with a defiant expression, not bothering to wipe the tear lines from his cheeks.

'Is that the truth?'

'It is.' Reggie replied simply, his voice returning slowly to it's normal dull tone.

* * *

Paul nodded sharply, then lent forward with a new angry look on his face, spitting his new words out with venom. 'Then, _why_ did you encourage me to take the frontier challenge if you knew what was waiting for me? Or were you secretly hoping I'd lose as well? Suppose it would be a comfort, knowing you weren't the only _failure _in the family... '

'What! No, I didn't want that, how could you think I would want that?' Reggie cried, a look of deep hurt crossing his face at the accusation.

'What else am I supposed to think? You were the one who told me you thought it would be a good idea for me to challenge the battle frontier in order to face Brandon, and now you're telling me he can't be beaten. What else am I supposed to think?'

'I never said he was unbeatable!' Reggie shouted back. 'I only said that _I _couldn't beat him...'

'What the dif...'

'The difference is, you can! I know you can Paul! You just need to learn to trust your pokemon properly, and find your...your inner strength, like I never could...'

'_My inner strength?_' Paul repeated, sneering. 'What's that even supposed to mean? And for the last time, what difference does _trusting _my pokemon make in battle anyway?'

'How's Charmeleon doing?'

'Huh?'

Paul started at the sudden change in topic, staring at his brother with a look of utter confusion. 'What are you on about?'

Reggie face moved closer to the screen still until it almost looked like his nose was pressing against it, his face now wearing an almost earnest expression. 'How's Charmeleon doing Paul? You know, the one that was briefly sent back to me after you caught it at the Battle Factory...'

'What's Charmeleon got to do with anything?' Paul asked again, still completely bewildered.

'Scott told me about your battle. I heard about how Charmeleon used Blaze. Kinda strange don't you think, since you spent nearly half of Sinnoh failing to get Chimchar to do the very same thing...'

'So what? Chimchar was an oddity, different pokemon fight in different ways, no matter what we may do as trainers. I thought you would know that, _breeder_...'

'No, you're wrong.' Reggie continued, seeming to ignore Paul's thinly-veiled insult. 'Charmeleon used that ability because you earned it's respect and because you put your trust in it to win the battle instead of just giving up on it. Chimchar would have done the same for you if you'd just taken the time to get to know it better, rather than simply throwing it into dangerous battles in an attempt to bring out it's ability manually. You've changed since Sinnoh, Paul even if you don't realise it or want to accept it. Being alone for so long, with no family apart from...apart from me as a brother can make you independent, I get that. But you have to learn to trust in your pokemon's abilities more! They want to win for you, that battle with Ash should have shown you that much. The trainer before that match back then could never have defeated Brandon. But the trainer in front of me just might.'

A sudden image of Torterra glowing bright green suddenly shot through the Paul's mind unbidden, followed shortly by a image of an aggron leaping high into the air. Paul shook his head furiously, glaring back at his brother. 'What makes you so sure I've changed?'

'Because, other than how Charmeleon battles for you, because of how you treated your pokemon after you lost at the Sinnoh league,' Reggie replied instantly. 'The Silver Conference, the Ever Grande Conference, Indigo Plateau. What did you do after each of those losses?'

'I don't understa...'

'You, with the exception of Torterra for some reason, released nearly all the pokemon you used in each region in a fit of rage. Claiming the ones that lost their battles weren't strong enough, that they weren't fast enough. Yet after Sinnoh, you didn't. It never even occurred to you did it? Why? The only reason I can think off is that some part of you finally realised after battling Ash, that maybe your pokemon weren't responsible for the loss. Maybe you saw something in him you realised you were missing...'

Paul gaped at his brother, struggling to think of a counter-argument as his brother's words word began to sink in. For a moment, Paul felt as if the small room he was sat in was beginning to grow in all directions. The purple-haired trainer swore again, angrily re-shaking his head as another thought re-occured to him.

'But if what you're saying is true, then why did you lose? You blindly respect your pokemon more than anyone else I know, to the point of over-indulgence in most cases. If trusting your pokemon is so important, then how did you fail?'

* * *

Reggie sighed, his face falling as he lent back, suddenly looking exhausted.

'I told you Paul, it was because of me. Brandon was right, even after all these years, it still seems I haven't managed to find my true strength. Maybe if I had, I would have re-challenged Brandon. I trusted my pokemon and in return, they fought their hardest. I thought about that loss for a long time. I still do now. And I slowly came to realise that maybe there are two things that make a true elite, a potential master. You've always had one, at least you used to; the determination to win no matter what the circumstances. I had the other, a love and trust in my pokemon. And Ash had both. That's why neither of us could beat him once he became our technical equal. I believe now, that once your pokemon become strong enough to stand on equal ground, a battle with any powerful trainer in the end, comes down a battle of wills and a test of trust with your pokemon to go the extra distance when required. And while I loved my pokemon, my reasons for wanting to win just weren't enough. I just didn't have the willpower to win. Maybe I never had it.'

'And you think I do?' Paul asked, now quietly as if he was afraid he would miss the answer, his anger disappearing.

'I don't know Paul. You used to before Brandon. You might still have it, but it's something you're going to have to re-discover yourself. When you face Brandon, you can't just enter that arena with the desire to avenge my loss, or your own. Your pokemon are strong enough to beat him, but in the end, I guess it will come down to what your battling for.'

_'__Answer me a question and I will battle you wherever you want.'_

_'Fine. Ask.'_

_'Then tell me boy. Tell me why do you battle?'_

Paul snapped his gaze downwards as Brandon's face suddenly replaced Reggie's, as the voice suddenly rang off inside his head, the full power of the memory hitting him head on._  
_

* * *

A long silence followed as both siblings stared away from the screen, each avoiding eye contact with the other. Around Paul, the ship remained mute, gently rocking from side to side in the ocean currents.

A low chuckle immited from the monitor. 'I can't remember the last time we talked for this long.'

Paul shook his head slightly, still looking away to one side as a small smile grew on his lips.

'Me neither.'

'Paul listen. I don't know what happened to make you call and ask me this in the middle of the night after so long, but I'm glad you did. This needed to be said. Maybe it's because you're nervous, maybe you're just confused,' Reggie continued, his eyes staring through at his younger brother intently, his voice almost sounding urgent. 'Or maybe something did happen in Fuchsia, more than what you're telling me, I don't know. And you may be right about me, maybe I am interested in seeing you completing your goals more than a normal brother should. But what important here is that you know if you need anything, or just want to talk, then I'm right here. No matter what happens, win or lose, I already know you won't make the same mistake I did. You're the better trainer by far,' Reggie grinned up at his sibling. 'You just needed a push in the right direction.'

'Hpmh.' Paul ran a hand through his hair, then turned back to face the screen. 'I better go. I need to get some sleep before I start training tomorrow.'

'Right. No problem.' Through the screen, Paul watched his brother reach forward, presumably to end the connection.

'Reggie...'

'Huh?'

'Thanks for telling me. I know it can't have been...easy.' Paul finished awkwardly.

Reggie replied with a simple nod, flashing his brother a small strained, but genuine smile before the screen turned blank.

For a long time, Paul just sat there, unmoving, staring at the empty monitor, breathing calmly. Outside, the moon shone brightly, sending light flickering across the waters as the ship continued to it's next destination.

* * *

**That's 21 done. Again, I'm sorry for the wait. The chapters will continue, they will probably run on a weekly basis. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I felt it was an important one to show the relationship between the two brothers and the confusion Paul is feeling right now. Bit of a deeper chapter than usual I know haha. (I hope no one was overly disappointed that Dawn wasn't in this one, rest assured though, she will will coming back at some point in the future). Please review if you wish to do so, I will be happy to receive any opinions you may have. Until next time, bye bye!**


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